Siren Song
by Naida of the Rain
Summary: We're all chasing something in life. Success, love, wealth. Ever since we were kids, my best friend Barry Allen has been chasing the impossible. I always hoped he would find it; I just never expected to become it.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Hello everyone, I wanted start out by personally thanking a fellow author on this site bttlcapgrl13 who's kind words have inspired me to go ahead and publish this story. I had my reservations, especially when I have two other stories I'm trying to update and contend with, but 'The Flash', Barry Allen and writing this chapter makes me smile, and I wanted to share that joy with the rest of you. Thank you all for taking the time to read this, and if you're looking for other stories I seriously suggest checking bttlcapgrl13's Flash story. There are direct lines taken from the show, and I do not take credit for them. Naturally I don't anything DC or CW related!**

* * *

 _Since when does math have letters in it? It was hard enough mastering long division, now they gotta add letters! I blew a piece of hair out of my face before slumping back against the wall, papers falling out of my lap and onto the window seat. Becky Holstein looked pretty confident in class; I might have to see if I can copy her answers tomorrow morning. Letters, geez, who do they think I am, 'Good Will Hunting'?_

 _I press my cheek against the glass, slipping into a daydream. A boy around my age barrels down the sidewalk, searching haphazardly behind him. Things drop out of his hands, attempting to outrun four_ _other boys in pursuit. I know them. They're Andy, Robbie, Adam, and Zeek; Tony's friends. I sigh, shaking my head. I never really liked those guys; they are the worst kind of jerks. The boy chanced a glance behind him, costing him to trip landing right on the sidewalk in front of the house. I can hear Andy and Robbie hooting and hollering after the poor sap, closing in on him._

 _I squint a little to get a better look at their new target. Is that Barry Allen? Oh god, they've been after him for weeks now. I caught Tony shoving him into a locker yesterday. Poor guy, he sits near me in English and Science. We don't talk too much, but he's always been pretty nice. The four of them catch up to Barry, taunting him, and I roll my eyes at the sight. What douche bags. Barry starts to get up, but Robbie knocks him down, laughing all the while. Barry tries to make a break for it, but all four tackle him down, this time, pummeling him. Barry doubles over and I gasp at the sight. In a flurry, papers fly as his backpack is thrown behind them and they pounce on him; kicking and punching, taunting him all the while. The sight made me sick; I've got to do something! I can't just let him get beat up in front of my house! Before I can even think, I storm towards the front door and reach for the baseball bat before flinging it open and storming outside. I can literally feel the fury crackling through me._

" _Hey! Leave him alone!" I charge towards them, bat in hand. The boys stop, turning around to face me._

" _What the hell, Ry, go home this isn't about you."_

" _It sure as hell is! Now leave him alone."_

" _Since when do you care, Ry? You watch Tony and us do it all the time."_

" _Yeah well, not anymore I'm not. This is ridiculous what did he even do to you?" Robbie shoots me a nasty look before spitting on the ground._

" _That's what I thought,"_

 _What are you gonna do, Gallagher?" Andy taunts, calling my bluff. I hesitate a minute and a nasty grin spreads across his face. "You got girls fighting your battles, Allen?" They both laugh, eyeing Barry still on the ground. Something in me snapped, and I close the gap between us screaming at them, swinging my bat._

" _You're nuts, Gallagher!"_

" _You're damn right I am! Now get the hell outta here if you know what's good for you!" All four of them take off running down the block, not without shouting a few names my way. I shook my head, tossing the bat against the house. Assholes, I have to hang with a better crowd; definitely going to have to after that stunt. I make my way over to Barry, who is picking himself up off the ground._

" _You ok, Barry?"_

" _Ow,"_

" _Oo, ow is right. You wanna come in and clean up? My parents aren't home, but I know where we keep the first aid kit."_

" _No, that's alright. I'm just going to go home."_

" _Are you sure? Want me to walk with you?"_

" _No, no. I'm fine."_

" _Oh, well…ok then." Barry gets up, brushing himself off, wiping the blood from his nose. "You know, there's nothing to be embarrassed about, that was four against one."I offered, shrugging lightly. Barry turns toward me, anger and uncertainty gracing his features._

" _Why are you being so nice to me? Isn't Woodward your boyfriend?"_

" _Ex-boyfriend. I don't care for bullies. Besides, we're friends, duh!"I respond coolly, not missing a beat._

" _We are?"He stares at me uncertainly. I can see why, I was the girlfriend of his bully. Why should he trust me? I wanted him to. I let Tony push others, including myself, around. I wasn't about to let that continue._

" _Sure we are."Barry smiles widely._

" _Ow!" Barry grabs his face. His lip cracks open, blood bubbling on his lower lip._

" _You should probably get that looked at. See you around…friend." I smile widely, heading back into the house. I turn around long enough to watch him take off down the street once more, and I smile to myself before heading inside._

* * *

"You're late."

"I know I'm sorry; held up at the lab." Barry sighed, looping me into an awkward side hug before heading to the counter.

"Already got you one," I pointed to the slightly steaming coffee cup.

"Have I ever told you you're the best?" He grinned sheepishly, his eyes searching for momentary forgiveness for his lateness.

"Never enough," I huff lightly, desperately trying to keep my glare intact. Chancing a glance up, I'm met with those puppy dog eyes, and I can feel the corner of my mouth quirk ever so slightly. The motion did not go unnoticed, and he broke out into a wide grin taking his place on the other side of the table. "Careful! Don't smudge the prints!" I warned, his hands freezing just above the table top.

"Are these the new ones?"

"Yes they are."

"How did they turn out?"

"Fantastic, I have some really great shots; it's hard to choose which one I like best."

"How many more do you need for the gallery?"

"Just one, and then I can prep for exhibition."

"That's amazing!"

"I mean it will be my third one now, but this should be the best one yet." I beamed before returning my gaze to the photos.

"Well I think they are incredible, when is it?"

"Next month, lord willing, if I can narrow it down by tonight; you're coming."

"I wouldn't miss it."

"You don't have a choice." I stuck my tongue out playfully, earning an eye roll.

"Are you coming tonight?" Tonight? Oh shit, tonight! Tonight's the unveiling of the Star Labs' particle accelerator. It's the only thing Barry has talked about for over a year now, which means I know more about it then I've ever cared to.

"Oh god, I don't know Barry. I don't think I can. I still have to go through these photos and choose which one is going into the exhibit. I need to blow it up—"

" _Layla_ ," he sing-songs. I freeze, my eyes darting up to a smirking Barry, eyes glinting with mischief.

"Barry," I warn.

" _Got me on my knees, Layla_ ,"

"Don't you start—"

" _Beggin' darlin' please, Layla_ ," His lopsided grin contagious as he circles stupidly around me. My cheeks flush as people begin looking up from their conversations, watching Barry sing my namesake. I close my eyes blushing madly, my lips parting into a wild grin.

"Fine!" I relented, groaning slightly. I can never say no to him and he knows it the little worm; especially when he sings my name. It's a game we've played since we were kids. I was obsessed with Eric Clapton, especially 'Layla' since it had my name in it. Whenever I was upset, or being stubborn, Barry would sing it until I forgave him. He could get me to do almost anything when he sings that song to me. It's really unfair.

"Thank you! Thank you! You're amazing!"

"Just shut up and take your coffee." He smugly reached for his cooled double shot latte.

"Is Iris here?"

"Yup! Right over there." I cocked my eyebrow knowingly as he wandered across the café over to her distracted figure. Iris and I go way back. We all sort of started grouping together around the same time. I started palling around with Barry after the incident in front of my house. I earned the term 'crazy bitch' for the rest of middle school and high school. A name I wore proudly. I was crazy enough to date and break up with Tony Woodward, and I chased away two bullies with a baseball bat. Hell, it was fitting. After what happened to Barry's Mom and he went to go live with the West's, the three of us became an unbreakable trio.

"Please tell me you are going too, I don't think I could handle all of that nerd at once."

"That's the plan; I'd love to get some pictures of the unveiling. I'm actually kind of excited, I've been doing some reading on this, and if this thing works—"

"It could change everything!"Barry exclaimed excitedly.

"I have a few things to finish up for this exhibition, but I could meet you guys there."

"Are you sure?"

"Definitely, he might jump out of his skin if he's late."

"Actually, there's been a development in a case; Joe needs me in the Lab testing fecal matter." Barry sighed, his face falling as he hangs up with Joe.

"Sounds riveting, I didn't think you're freaky brain would want to miss this."

"It doesn't, trust me."

"Well trust me when I say Joe's gonna have your ass if you don't get back." I warned, still eyeing two of my finalists. "Which one?" I flashed.

"Left—"

"—Right,"

"Helpful." I glowered before diving back into my own critical analysis.

"I'll swing by the lab to come get you!" Iris called after him, as he sped out the door back to the lab. I felt the table jiggle slightly as she settled in across from me, fingering my pictures.

"Hey, hands off."

"Oh please I was with you when half of these were taken."

"Touché; just act surprised when you come to the showing next month."

"Don't I always?"

"No, and it's bad for business." I glanced up, catching her mid smirk. I roll my eyes, my lip quirking in response.

"I'll do my best to really sell it this time."

"See that you do. Who knows who'll be showing up to this thing."

"Yes, you could be the next Andy Warhol."

"Hey!" I pointed at her warningly, my lips curled in excitement at the prospect. "Nothing is impossible."

"Ok, Barry."

"A girl can dream. And when I dream, I dream big. I think this is the one." I settled on a black and white photo of Iris and Barry. Iris perched up on bow of a tree, her legs daintily dangling down, angling ever so slightly to the left. Her hands gripping two smaller branches on either side of her, bracing herself as she peers coyly down at Barry; who is standing just below her, head tilted, back to the camera, staring up at her longingly. I think I'll call it, 'Teasing Romance'. Ugh, brilliant. Done; that's it. I'm amazing.

"Can I have a copy of this one?" Iris asked, sliding the chosen photo in front of her.

"Or you could buy it at the gallery."

"Didn't anyone ever tell you best friend prices are free?" She flashed me that award winning Iris smile, to which I rolled my eyes, chuckling.

"You drive a hard bargain, West; I'll bring it in next week."

* * *

"Am I too late?"

"No, you're just in time!" Iris whispered, yanking me next to her. I smile, waving at Barry, who shakes his head disapprovingly, tapping his imaginary watch. I purse my lips and give him the finger. I grab his arm, hushing his laughter, as I turn my attention to the group of scientists far up on the podium. Harrison Wells really knows how to enthrall a room. All eyes are on him as he unveils what just might be the greatest creation in modern science. The crowd erupts in a wave of clapping and camera flashes and even I can't help but be undeniably excited about witnessing this. I'm glad Barry talked me into this.

"So, I had a chance to think about relationships;" oh god, "how I'm not in one and you're not in one and you're my best friend Iris." Barry leans ever so slightly towards her, and I can tell he's finally working up the courage to tell her exactly what he's been thinking of her since we were kids. I smile slightly, winking at Barry.

"You're mine; why else would I let you drag me here?" She smirks, elbowing him playfully.

"That's not what I meant."

"I know what you're going to say Barry—" Oh god, here it comes. She's going to whammy him. I was afraid of this.

"I don't think you do—"

"Because we practically grew up in the same house and we're like brother and sister…because we're not brother and sister, it can get really weird and awkward to talk to me about girls, but I just want you to know it shouldn't be awkward! There is nothing I want than for you to meet right person that totally loves and adores you for the amazing guy that you are." She smiles up at him affectionately.

Whammy.

I blanche slightly, waiting for Barry's reaction.

"Took the words right out of my mouth." He nodded, smiling sadly.

"Aren't you glad I know you so well?" She laughed, wrapping him in a quick hug. I smile at Barry sheepishly, shrugging my shoulders.

"You both do," to which my smile grew wide as he motioned for me to join the hug. I slipped into their embrace and squeezed lightly, before releasing us.

In an instant, someone shoved themselves between Iris and me, knocking me off balance.

"Hey! No! My laptop! It's got my dissertation!" Barry takes off after the thief, Iris and I on his heels.

We catch the tail end of Barry's figure disappearing behind Star Labs. "Over there, come on!" I shout, pulling Iris' hand. We turn the corner to see the thief assault Barry with the laptop before taking off over the fence.

"Barry! Are you ok?" Iris shouts, sprinting over to a doubled over Barry.

"Yep," Barry wheezes, I can a little more than his pride is hurt.

I can hear a cop shouting just beyond the fence, and I relax a little. I step in front of Barry inspecting his injuries through the dim light of my phone.

"Red suits you, Allen." I chuckle, reaching into my coat pocket for some spare tissues. "Hold still,"

"Its fine, I got it." Barry muttered; that look on his face again.

"I'm not three-wheeling a robbery. Iris got mugged, you got your ass-kicked, and now I get to play nurse."

"Three wheel a robbery? Really?"

"Got you to smile, didn't it?" I retorted, dabbing at the blood streaming from his nose. "Pow, right in the kissa!" I exclaimed, to which Iris laughed, earning a side glare from Barry.

"Barry's got a hard head, Iris. You might want to make sure your laptop's ok!" We giggled again, earning another scathing look from Barry. "Ok, ok, I'm done. No more jokes at your expense." I winked at him before finishing up. "Here you'll need these." I shoved a wad of tissues into his hand. "Use these to stop the bleeding, take a couple Ibuprofens, and call me in the morning."

"Thanks, Doc."

"All in a day's work," I replied mockingly. "Come on, Joe's going to need some testimony's." I drape my arm around his back heading after Iris.

* * *

"Who is that guy, and what is he so proud of? So he caught a mugger." Iris complained, heading towards the desk Barry and I were perched at. Barry, nursing his bloody nose, and me, occasionally checking his pupils and waiting to be told I can go home. It's been a long night, and I want to squeeze in a few more prints before bed.

"He's a transfer from Keystone; started a few weeks ago. His name's Eddie Thawne." I turned my head casually to see the owner of the name shaking hands with fellow members of the force, a cocky grin plastered on his face.

"Oh! That's detective pretty boy." Iris turns to see our confused glances, "that's what my dad calls him. Says he actually keeps score when it comes to arrests," she rolled her eyes and I return the smirk, chancing one last glance at said detective.

"Dad's right, definitely pretty." Barry rolls his eyes sending me a sour look. I wiggle my eyebrows at Iris, flashing her a wicked grin. "Yumm-o."

"Can you please not do that ever again? I have to work with this guy." Barry sighed, sulking slightly.

"Fiine," I relent smirking.

"Ok, Ry, you can go if you want; we have your statement." Joe offered, smiling warmly. I glance at Iris and Barry.

"Go ahead; you said you needed to work on some stuff for the exhibit right?" Iris offered sweetly.

"Are you sure?"

"Definitely, call me when you get in though ok," Barry asked looking up at me.

"I will, you do the same. Keep an eye on that head of yours please. I'm no doctor, I can't tell if you have a concussion or not."

"I'm fine, Ryleigh, really."

"Yea, I'll look after him." Joe nods before reaching over and giving me a hug.

"Night everyone," I called over my shoulder. The precinct was buzzing with life, the golden glow basking the building in warmth. I've spent so much time here because of Joe and Barry, it feels almost like home.

"Ugh, great…" It was pouring outside; I could hear the wind from in here. I could wait here, but those prints won't finish themselves. I'll just have to tough it out and hope a cab drives by. Pulling out my ear buds from my pocket, I pop them in and set my playlist to shuffle. Cream's 'Sunshine of Your Love' wafted through the speakers as I pushed open the precinct doors, braving the torrential downpour. My pace quickened, the hood of my coat soaking through. I'm six blocks away. I can do this. Just focus on the music. Quietly, I begin singing to myself. Thunder booms loudly above my head, startling me, and I chance a look to see bright bolts of lightning flashing overhead. I should have stayed at the precinct. I lower my head, barreling ahead, my voice growing louder to drown out my fears. I can hear my phone vibrate in my pocket, but I ignore it in favor of keeping my phone dry.

" _I've been waiting so long. To be where I'm going, the sunshine of your lo-o-oooove."_ A booming sound erupts, making me scream, the music In my ear begin to buzz, high pitched sonar interrupting through it. The sound drops me to my knees, and before I can react, a fiery explosion to the right of me, lights up the sky, followed by a bright light and a resounding pulse, that shakes me hard. The ear buds won't budge, and the sound, mixed with my screams is the last thing I hear before everything goes dark.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Hopefully you guys enjoyed reading this as much as I've enjoyed writing it. I will update this when I can! Reviews help inspiration! Thank you guys! XOXO -N**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Special shout out to Lunar Fox 13, and GhostlySights for your wonderful reviews! Thank you to everyone who favorited and followed as well, it your support means so much. I felt incredibly inspired last night and was able to bang out this chapter in a flash. HA! Oh god I'm sorry, I had to.**

* * *

 _I made the mistake of staying up way too late again. By the time I glanced up from my book, it was almost one in the morning. Thank god tomorrow is only Sunday. I'd be dead on my feet if I had to wake up at six. Hunkering down under the covers, I switched the light off, falling asleep almost instantly._

 _I've always been a light sleeper, and tonight was no different when a tapping noise filled my room. Groggily, I sat up, refusing to open my eyes, listening for the noisy intrusion._

' _Tap' 'Tap' Tap' The sound was quick, but quiet. Cautiously, I crawled out of bed towards my window peering outside._

 _There stood Barry, fidgeting in the alley between me and the neighbors. He glanced up, pointing for me to open the window._

" _Barry? What is it? What time is it?" I yawned sleepily, my head propped against the window pane._

" _It's late."_

" _Go home." I deadpan, moving to shut the window on him and crawl back in bed._

" _No, wait!" he braces his hands, thwarting my attempt to shut it._

" _Barry! I'm so tired, can't it wait?" I moan; flopping onto the window sill dramatically._

" _I'm running away."_

" _You're doing what?" My head shoots up, staring at him wide-eyed._

" _My Mom's killer is out there, Layla, and no one but me seems to want to find him."_

" _Barry—"_

" _My Dad didn't do it, Layla!"_

" _Keep your voice down, my parents will hear you!" I whisper shrilly, clapping a hand over his mouth. We sit still as the grave, listening for any movement. After a moment of silence, I motion for him to come in. He crawls through the window, landing face first on the floor, and I have to stifle a giggle. He settles himself at the end of my bed near the window, probably prepping for a quick exit._

" _Barry, I believe you, trust me. But, how is going after a super-powered murderer going to help you get your dad out of prison? What are you going to do? Traverse the world until you find him? Then what? How are you going to catch him? You said it yourself he was a blur, a yellow blur. He moved so fast you couldn't even see him. How are you supposed to see his face? What if he kills you?" The words poured out of my mouth before I could even filter them. I could see the wheels turning in his head as his face morphed between angry, contemplative, and frustration._

" _I can't just let my Dad rot in prison, Layla. We're the only ones that know the truth. No one believes us."_

" _What about Joe?" Barry made a face._

" _Joe is a cop, and cops need facts, they need proof. If I'm going to prove my Dad is innocent, I need to get proof that the yellow man exists."_

" _Barry, I want you to find him more than anything. But, you're just a kid. You have no resources, no money, nowhere to start."_

" _Then what am I supposed to do?" His voice cracked, he's at his breaking point, I can tell._

" _What would your Dad want?"_

 _Barry sighed heavily. "He'd want me to go to school, spend time with my friends, and not worry about him."_

" _Well, the worrying is a given unfortunately. But the other stuff sounds pretty good to me. Besides, you're not allowed to leave without me."_

" _Oh really,"_

" _Yes really, I can't believe you were even thinking about it!" My tone may have been joking, but I was dead serious. We've only been friends for a little over a year now, but I'd be devastated if Barry up and left without saying goodbye._

" _You would go with me?"_

" _I'd think about it." I definitely would, which is scary. I gave him a side-ways glance, failing to hide the grin on my lips._

* * *

"Vitals are still good, what were the results of the CT scan?"

"No fractures, though signs of a concussion; Brain scans show high activity in the cerebrum."

I feel like I'm submerged under water; like I'm floating, everything feels murky. I can hear voices but they are muffled. I try to open my eyes, but they are heavy.

"Ah Miss West, good to see you. We are just finishing up, have a seat."

"Thank you,"

"Do you want a coffee babe?"

Iris?

"Absolutely. Babe huh?"

"You don't like it?"

"No, no, I do."

"Ok…good. Be right back."

"Miss West, Layla seems to be progressing well, she's responding exceptionally well to auditory stimulation. So far her scans have been coming back fairly normal."

"That's good right?"

"Incredibly, given that she retained severe damage to her cerebrum. Once we were able to get the hemorrhaging to stop, it's been a matter of monitoring the condition. So far things are progressing amazingly. You're friend is a fighter. Both of them are."

Both?

"When can I see him?"

"Right now he's fighting for his life; but when he's more stable, you can go in."

"I really need to see him, please, just for a minute."

"I'm sorry Miss West, but it's just like a told your father, you can both visit, but through the window, we need to be able to take quick action in case his heart gives out again."

"Oh god," I can hear her getting choked up.

"They are in good hands, I promise. We will do everything we can."

"Will she be able to hear me?"

"Oh yes, she will be able to hear everything you say. Whether she retains It is still unknown to us. You're welcome to try."

"Thank you."

"Absolutely, if you need anything, please push this button and an attendant will be right over."

"Thanks," she whispered.

I could hear her dragging the chair over next to me, before settling in.

"Hey you," Her watery whisper washed over me. "Doc says you can hear me. God, I hope he's right." The palm of her hand covered mine, I tried to grasp it, but my fingers wouldn't budge.

"It's been a few weeks now, Doctor's don't know when you're going to wake up. God, I hope it's soon. I really need you right now. Barry really needs you. He's not doing so well, Ry."

"Here you go the best in the hospital."

A mystery voice.

"Thanks,"

"You ok? Stupid question."

"Very stupid."

"What did the Doctor have to say? She going to be ok?"

"They think so. They were able to stop the hemorrhaging. They have high hopes she'll be waking up soon."

"That's great!"

"She can hear us, if you wanted to talk to her."

"Would that be weird?"

"Not at all, Ryleigh is as weird as they get."

"Hey, uh, Ryleigh, this is Eddie. We haven't met yet, but I'm Iris' boyfriend. She and Joe speak highly of you. Apparently you don't like to be called Layla."

"Not really, she just prefers Ryleigh."

"Ah, well, I'm sure that's something you can explain to me when you wake up. It will be nice to actually meet you in person; apparently I'm really missing out."

"Incredibly; we miss you Ry. You need to wake up soon ok? Please?"

"How's Barry?"

"He's hanging in there. Doctor's are trying to keep him stable."

"How's Joe handling all this? He puts on a brave face at work. He gets really choked up and far away when it's just us."

"He's doing the best he can. Barry and Ryleigh have been a part of our lives for so long, they are family. It tears him up seeing them in here like this. If that dispatch didn't happen to pass by—"

"But they did, and they found her. She's going to be fine, Doctor's said so. Everything is going to be fine. Barry will pull through, just watch. I have to go, you're dad is going to be here soon, and it's going to look real suspicious if I'm in here."

"Hey, I know we've only been dating for a few weeks now, but thank you for coming. I know this isn't ideal, but—"

"She's family, I'm happy you'd let me be here with you. But if we are going to keep this off the radar, I need to go. I'll call you later, maybe we can have dinner tomorrow?"

"Sure, I'd like that."

"Great. I'll talk to you later then,"

"Until later,"

"Bye,"

"Wow," I whispered sleepily.

"Ry?"

"He's cute."

"Oh my god, Oh my god, Nurse! Nurse!" Iris shouted excitedly.

"Ow, not so loud," I pleaded, groaning, feeling my head pulsate.

"Oh my god, Ryleigh!" She gripped my hand, tears welling in her eyes. "How do you feel?"

"Like I got hit by a truck,"

"Ah, Miss Gallagher! Welcome to the land of the living, it's good to have you back."

"What happened?"

"Well, we're not exactly sure, you took quite the blow to the head, but you didn't have any outer contusions. A couple of officers happened upon you out cold on the side of the road."

"What? When?"

"About a month ago, after the explosion at Star Labs; can you recall anything about that night Layla? How you were hurt? Where you were going?"

The harsh florescent light made me wince, and feel like someone bashed me repeatedly over the head with a brick.

"Uh, Um, Ugh," I gripped my pulsing head. The whirring machines, the chattering residents, and the questions made my brain hurt.

"Not to worry, you only just woke up, we'll give you time to adjust before we start the questioning. Everything seems stable right now, but a nurse will be in soon to keep tabs just in case. I'll leave you two to your catching up. My name is Doctor Harmon; if you need anything just push that red button next to you."

"Uh, ok."

"How do you feel?" Iris questioned soothingly, reclaiming the chair next to me.

"Like I was hit by a truck; how did I get here? What the hell happened, Iris?"

"After the particle accelerator explosion, a dispatch was heading out to the scene. One of the patrol cars passed by you, you were unconscious and bleeding from the ears. You had severe hemorrhaging in your brain. They weren't sure if they were going to be able to stop it."

"Oh my god,"

"What happened, Ry?"

"I don't know. I remember leaving the precinct. I was walking home, and there was an explosion, and—"

My head began pulsating at the memory.

"Ugh,"

"Ry?"

"My head,"

"I'll call the Nurse."

"Wait,"

"Nope," Her tone was all business, as she reached over me pressing the red button. "I just sent a text to my Dad; he will be here soon ok? He will want to see you actually awake."

"Where's Barry?" She froze deer in the headlights.

"Uh,"

My blood ran cold, my heart skipping a beat. "Iris," I questioned, but she didn't respond. Her lips parted to answer, but she closed them just as fast. Her face was twisted with anguish. Oh god. The heart monitor beeped faster, as I waited anxiously for her to answer. "What happened? Iris, where is he?"

"Ryleigh,"

"Iris, where is he? Where is he Iris?" Tears welled in my eyes, the heart monitor wreaking havoc on my ears.

"Ryleigh!" Joe called, skidding into the room. "Ryleigh?" His fearful, confused eyes flashed between me and Iris searching.

"Joe," I called brokenly, reaching a heavy hand out to him.

"I'm right here Ry, you had us so scared."

"Where's Barry?"

"He's going to be fine."

"What does that mean? What happened?" Joe blinked a few stray tears away, he had been crying for a while now, but fresh ones were beginning to blear his vision.

"There was an accident. He's being moved to a better location, where he can be monitored by people who can help him."

"Where?" Iris blanched, apparently this is new information.

"Star Labs,"

"What! Dad no, you can't let them take him, this is their fault in the first place!"

"His condition is in direct relation to the Particle Accelerator explosion, they have the best equipment money can buy, they will be able to better monitor Barry and help him get better. It's his best chance Iris."

"What kind of accident? Joe, what the hell happened?"

"He…was struck by lightning. It came through the window during that storm. We found him upstairs. He's critical. Dr. Wells said as soon as the doctor's are able to stabilize him they are moving him to Star Labs. They are going to look after him Ryleigh I promise."

"Barry…" Wrenching sobs wracked my body, as I called out to my best friend. Joe held my hand, fighting so hard to be strong while I fell apart.

"I want to see him."

"Ry, you just woke up, I don't think they will let—"Iris offered weakly.

"I. Want. To. See. Him." I insisted furiously, flailing slightly. I could feel the tape holding the IV's in my arm tugging at my skin. I was trapped in this bed, while my best friend was hanging on by a thread in another room.

"Ry, you don't want to see him. Not like this." Joe reasoned.

"I don't care!" I screamed. I needed to get out of this bed. I needed to find Barry. I should have stayed at the precinct that night. I should have never left.

Two nurses and Dr. Harmon entered the room, ushering Joe out of the chair and to the back of the room.

"Miss Gallagher, you need to try to calm down please."

"I'm sorry, she insisted on knowing about Barry, and well—"

"Ah, I see. Close friends?"

"Best friends, like family."

"I'm so very sorry, Layla. Barry is in good hands I promise you."

"I want to see him."

"I'm afraid now is not a good time. Nurse, ready the sedative. Light dosage, just enough to help her sleep. Now Layla, Carla here is going to give you something to help you relax, all right? Just to help you sleep. Not to worry, it's going straight into the IV bag, so you'll feel the effects relatively soon. Have a good sleep and we will be in to check on you again."

"I promise, as soon as they release you we'll take you to see Barry." The sobbing slowed significantly to deep sniffling; I can feel the sedative slipping into my system. My limbs relaxed, my head became heavy. I nodded numbly at his words, giving his hand a squeeze.

"I'm so glad I got to see you, and we'll be back tomorrow ok?"

"Ok,"

I fell asleep to the sound of Joe humming an all too familiar tune.

* * *

"Ok, Layla, everything seems good. Hearing is excellent, cognitive skills are on par, you've done exceptionally in both physical and neuro therapy. Brain seems to be functioning normal; the only thing is your cerebral lobe is functioning at amazing efficiency."

"What does that mean?" Doctor Harmon grinned, producing two images out of my chart.

"This is an image taken of average brain stimulation. This right here, that's the cerebral lobe. The lit up part is the percentage that functions when stimulated. This is a picture of your stimulated cerebral lobe. It's lit up like Christmas tree. I've never seen that much stimulation before. It's working at peak efficiency. It's absolutely fascinating to see."

"Oh wow, that's ok right?"

"You've passed every test with flying colors, no negative side affects present. You feel fine now?"

"Well yea, I feel great."

"Well then my job here is done. If you need us, you know where to find us. Hopefully you won't need to. Have a good one, Layla."

"You too, Doctor Harmon, thank you." I nodded signing the rest of the release forms. Iris leaned against the door smiling brightly at me.

"How does it feel to have real clothes on?"

"Horrible, I need to start wearing more dresses I've been spoiled."

"You're ass was hanging out."

"And I felt free! No more pants, ever."

"Good luck with that. Let's go get some coffee. I know you're dying for it."

"Jitters stop?"

"Where else? You could use it, besides I told Cisco I would pick him up one.

"Cisco?"

"One of the scientists looking after Barry; be prepared, he's a talker."

"Any progress?"

"He's stable, but nothing else."

"That's good enough for me right now." There's still hope. I refuse to think anything else.

"Oh, before I forget, this belongs to you." My phone! I pressed the center button, but nothing came on.

"It's fried,"

"What do you mean fried?"

"Joe checked it when he collected your personal affects, we couldn't turn it on even after charging it."

"Great." That pulse must have fried the battery. The sound emanating through the ear buds was—just recalling the screech gave me a headache. I shuddered lightly, sliding it into my pocket.

"I called you that night. It started pouring bad and we were worried you were going to get stuck in it. Then Barry—when you didn't answer I was so mad. The worst time to not answer your phone. I called you a dozen times, all straight to voicemail. I didn't think…"

"Hey, it's ok. I'm so sorry, Iris, I shouldn't have walked home that night, I should have been there. None of this would have happened."

"You couldn't have stopped this, I just feel so rotten because, you usually answer your phone. I should have known something was up when you didn't call back."

"There was no way you could have known. Don't beat yourself up ok? I'm ok, you're ok, and Barry is going to be ok."

"You really think so?"

"I'm not giving him a choice." Iris cracked a smile, pulling me into a hug.

"Good, between the three of us, he'll be awake in no time."

* * *

Coffee in hand, Iris led me through the security doors of Stars Labs. It feels like so long ago we were here together, even though it was only two months ago. My heart thumped wildly against my chest, at the prospect of seeing Barry. Iris and Joe mentally prepared me for this visit, though I'm sure it won't ease the blow by much.

Iris pressed the intercom just inside the lobby.

"Ah, Miss West," I flinched slightly at the high-pitched tones of the intercom. I rubbed my ears gently, adjusting to the sound. "Good to see you again and you've brought a friend."

"This is Layla Gallagher."

"Good to see you out and about Miss Gallagher. You're here to see Barry no doubt. I must warn you, you might not like what you see. He's stable though, Cisco and Dr. Snow will walk you through the rest of our findings."

"That was—"

"Dr. Wells,"

"How did you,"

"I remember his voice."

"Oh, weird,"

"Thanks," I roll my eyes, following her into the elevator. The doors open to a science whiz's wet dream. Everything in here was sleek and unbelievably advanced, were it any other circumstances I would be in awe. My eyes focused on the other side of the lab, to a stretcher occupied by my best friend. I approached cautiously, my legs turning to lead with each step. Iris held back, giving me a moment alone with him I'm sure.

"Hi, you must be Layla! The name's Cisco Ramon, and I'm—"

"Just leaving," a fiery-haired women strut over shutting Cisco up with a look. "We'll be over here. Take your time." She added softly, shooing him to another part of the lab. I felt like I swallowed a five ton weight. I shuddered slightly, as I approached. He looked like he was sleeping, hooked up to multiple monitors, measuring god knew what. I feel so helpless just standing here watching him.

"Hey, Barry," I whispered, tears lodged in my throat. Cautiously, I reached for his hand, encasing it with mine. "It's me! I finally made it. It took a few months, but I finally made it." I whispered, caressing his hand with my thumb. "I uh, I was in the hospital…something happened the same night you ended up like this. Only you would get struck by lightning inside, Allen." I choked on my tears, fighting back the sobs. I wasn't going to fall apart here. I wanted to see him, not cry over him. "I don't know what the hell happened that night, one minute I was walking home and the next—Iris says they found me on the pavement. Crazy shit happened to us that night, and I want to know what that freaky brain of yours makes of it. We need you to wake up, Barry. I need you to. You're not allowed to go anywhere without me. You gotta come back, Barry."

I could hear the soft patter of sneakers approaching behind. Wiping my eyes aggressively, I desperately tried to pull myself together in time.

"Um, I figured you and Iris would want a progress report."

"Yea, that would be awesome." I sniffled.

"Well, as you can see, physically not much has changed, he's still out cold. But! He can still hear you, so if you wanted to come and visit, familiar stimulants will probably help him recover faster. Also, we want to see if his brain patterns change depending on the environment. He's not familiar with Caitlin and I, but you and Iris are his best friends, so if he hears you guys, music he likes, simulated noises, that could affect his brain activity."

"I uh, could give you a list of his favorite bands."

"Oh I already hacked his Facebook; he's got a pretty good list to bounce off of."

"Oh,"

Caitlin shot Cisco another look, shutting him up. "The good news is, he's stable and we've got the best technology to help him. Dr. Wells is a brilliant man, if anyone can help Barry, it's him."

"Good, I'm glad he's taking responsibility, because if it wasn't for his machine, none of this would have happened!" I snapped.

"We are all affected by this accident. Thankfully you and Barry came out relatively unscathed."

"Unscathed! He's in a coma! He was struck by lightning. He died, over and over again! Doctor's had to keep restarting his heart! You call that unscathed?"

"He's alive, and breathing, which is more than some. I promise, we are doing everything we can." Her lips were pressed so thin they turned white. Her glare was hard, but it held suffering. I chanced a glance at Cisco who offered a sheepish smile, before seeing us out.

"Here's my number," he offered, handing me a slip of paper. "Give us a ring when you want to visit Barry."

"Thank you, Cisco."

I glanced over at Caitlin, who stormed off, distracting herself with something on a nearby screen.

I bent down planting a kiss on Barry's forehead. "See you soon."

* * *

 **Author's Note: Hopefully my interpretation of Caitlin and Cisco are up to par. What do you think of Layla? Anything you guys would like to see? Reviews inspire me!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: I would love to thank GhostlySights and highlander348 for your stunning reviews. I'm so glad you guys are enjoying this story and thank you so much for your input. This chapter was fleshed out before I sat down to write it, and I was actually planning to do it today. Instead, I was woken up at three in the morning by a need to write and what came out was this. I have no idea where it came from, but I love it. I would also like to give a special shout out to everyone following/favoriting this. Seeing the reception this has been getting definitely helps inspire me.**

 **GhostlySights- Thank you for laughing! Glad to know I'm not the only one who does that ;) when I'm reading/writing time just gets away from me. Posting this bright and early so you have something to dig into before 1am ehehe. Also, I think we should have a vote: Bayla or Larry? I honestly love both; honored that my story is worthy of a pairing name. Real life squealing in delight.**

 **highlander348-I haven't fully revealed Layla's powers yet, but you'll get a taste of them here. I wonder if you can figure out what they are. Loved your idea btw, deeply considered it, but when I was done, this just felt right. Maybe if I decide to write a different Flash story (deeply considering it) I'll use that premises.**

 **Thank you DC Comics, CW, and cast for without you, this would not exist. Mario Kart references galore in this. Can I get sued for not stating this? Let's not find out. You're welcome Nintendo.**

* * *

I mull about the closed gallery, glass of wine in hand. The exhibit had a fair turn out, and five pieces were bought, including 'Teasing Romance'. Almost all of the freelance business cards were taken, only a few lay forgotten next to half drunk wine glasses; all in all, a very successful evening. The lights were dim, but the ambient jazz still played over the sound system. I sighed wistfully, glancing around at my work.

Half are posed, but others are candid and in my opinion, much more beautiful. I stopped on one of Joe laughing animatedly. His head bent slightly forward, eyes squeezed shut, an infectious grin on his face. You can almost hear the shrieks of laughter. Steam from his coffee cup rose, tickling his face. I zoomed in just enough so in black and white; every freckle, laugh line, and crow's feet would be accentuated. It was real, it was classic, it was beautiful; truly one of my favorites.

I touched the frame gently in fondness before taking another sip of wine.

I remember that morning well:

Iris, Barry, and I pulled an all-nighter while Iris "worked" on her dissertation. Half of the night was spent muttering on the couch rephrasing the same paragraph while Barry and I played Mario Kart. In the end, Iris gave up and the three of us threw cheese curls at one another in an attempt to mess each other up.

" _I swear to god, if you win again, Barry, I'm going to smack the shit out of you."_

" _Maybe we should play something else."_

" _No! Not until I win!" Iris growled, buckling down into the controller._

 _We get extremely competitive._

 _A few hours later, Iris feels guilty for not getting further in her paper and returns to muttering incoherently on the sofa intermixed with frustrated sighs._

" _I don't know why you don't call it. You're not getting anywhere."_

" _I need to write at least five pages tonight."_

" _Holy hell Iris, what are you doing down here?"_

" _Not sleeping,"_

" _I swear TO GOD, BARRY!"_

 _Iris howled as I zoomed right over a banana Barry threw not ten seconds ago. Bowser spiraled out of control right off the rainbow bridge._

" _You always pick Bowser, I try to tell you—"_

" _I like Bowser."_

" _But Toad is faster."_

" _Fuck Toad! That little piece of shit—"_

" _So aggressive!" Barry mocked, knocking Peach off the bridge with a turtle shell._

" _Shut up!" I was too far behind now to win. I watched as Barry gained speed before making the turn, only to go flying off as well._

" _Damn it!"_

" _Rainbow Bridge is impossible, why do we even play this level?" I huffed, tossing my controller on the floor in front of me. Toad zoomed past flawlessly a shit eating grin on his face._

" _Because you wanted to even the playing field," He smirked, "shit!"_

" _Watch those turns, Allen. They can be hairy." I smirked maliciously, watching Luigi fly once more into the abyss._

" _You would know, wouldn't you?" He quipped, an evil smile stretched across his face._

" _Alright smart ass, let's go. I'm sick of watching you wipe the floor with me. It's go time!"_

" _Super Smash Bros?"_

" _You know it?"_

" _Oh, I'm so in."_

" _Don't you have a paper to write?"_

" _Shut up and move over, I call Pikachu."_

 _This went on all through the night. Once four am rolled around, Iris was working on her sixth attempt at finishing five pages. Barry and I were propped up against each other sitting on the porch outside trying to pick out constellations in the hues of light pollution._

" _That one's Draco,"_

" _Nah, it's too early for Draco."_

" _I don't think so, Draco comes out in spring. What other constellation is that long?"_

" _You know what, you might be right."_

" _I'm always right."_

" _That's a bold statement Gallagher. I'm going to need to see some scientific evidence."_

" _I am all the scientific evidence you need, Allen."_

" _Are you suggesting your entire molecular structure is made up of being right?"_

" _Are you suggesting that I'm lying?"_

" _I'm suggesting that you're entire argument is invalid."_

" _Fine, name a time I've been wrong."_

" _Just now, this entire argument is wrong. You literally can't get more wrong."_

" _Name another time,"_

" _That time we drove out to Virginia Beach,"_

" _Nope you're right, never mind."_

" _And you insisted that we were going the right way, because the Google maps said so—"_

" _Ok, ok, you're right—" I tried so hard to shush him, but he just got louder, laughing at my embarrassment and antics, shoving my hands away from his mouth, restraining them by wrapping his arms around mine, pinning my hands to my body._

" _And every time I would ask you, you would insist until we were halfway through Tennessee—"_

" _It was an honest mistake!"_

" _You actually had the nerve to yell at me! That was the best part! You were hollering about how you know what you're doing and how dare I not believe you, 'I think I know how to read Google, Barry!" He mocked in the most annoying bratty girl voice he could muster._

" _I didn't know, ok! I was so sure!"_

" _Daytona Beach! How do you even do that?"_

" _We were listening to that one country song, and I had it on the brain, ok! Don't even start; we had a better time there than we would have in Virginia!" I defended, pouting heavily in his arms. Barry laughed giving me a squeeze._

" _Oh definitely, that was a blast. Iris was so pissed we went without her."_

" _Her spring break was different from ours that year." I countered, justifying her absence. "We Skyped her from the beach that day, and oh my god, she was so jealous."_

" _I felt bad; it would have been so great with her there." Barry mused, resting his chin against my hair._

" _Definitely' we'll have to take her down once she's finished this dissertation."_

" _She's in charge of directions."_

" _That was the best mistake ever, don't even deny it."_

" _I don't, but you were still wrong."_

" _I was so wrong I was right!" I replied, my feeble attempt at winning._

" _Not even a little."_

" _Damn it."_

 _We sat like that for what felt like forever, Barry draped the blanket he stole from inside the house around us, allowing me to snuggle between his legs, tucking the ends around me. I don't know at what point I fell asleep, but the first rays of sun woke me up, Barry's arms cemented around me, hugging me and the blanket to him. I managed to shift slightly only disturbing him a little. I doubt that porch railing is the slightest bit comfortable._

" _Hey you," I croaked gently, kissing his cheek. He stirred gently, eyes fluttering open. He glanced around, bleary eyed and confused before looking down at me, smiling._

" _We fell asleep out here." He stated groggily._

" _Yes we did, and my butt is numb. Let's go inside, I'll make you coffee."_

" _Ah, you're the best." Our bodies cracked and creaked as we stretched from our positions, heading inside._

" _Good, I was worried I'd have to go wake you two up," Joe smirked, sipping his own cup of coffee._

 _Barry rolled his eyes playfully, arching his back once more before reluctantly sitting at the table. I grabbed two mugs from the cupboard, before checking in on Iris. Her eyes were heavy, fighting so hard to stay awake, not even realizing how hard she was dozing each time. The laptop would slide off her lap, jolting her awake._

" _Hey!" I shouted, making her jump in her seat. She yelped, knocking the laptop off her lap completely, before whipping around to glare at me. I grinned wickedly, winking at her._

" _Want any breakfast? Dad's up. He made more coffee, how about you take a break and eat something?"_

" _Fine," she replied grumpily, I can tell she's completely exhausted. I doubt any of that is even legible at this point._

" _Hey baby girl, get a lot done?" Joe inquired pleasantly, a knowing smile on his face._

" _Hmmph," Iris answered, plunking down at the table. Her head propped against her open palm covering her eyes. Joe tried desperately to hide his grin._

" _You got any oatmeal, Joe?" I asked, rummaging through the cabinets._

" _Yea, right in there next to the pancake mix," He pointed. "You want any help?"_

"' _Nah, easy enough," I shrugged. Joe made a face as he watched me prepare the oatmeal. Sometimes it's ok to cut corners to save time. Using lukewarm water from the spigot to make oatmeal isn't one of them. She won't know the difference anyway._

" _There you go, Iris…Iris!" I called louder in her ear. She jumped slightly, before eyeing her breakfast._

" _So, what's the plan today?" Joe asked, glancing around the table._

" _Sleep," Barry groaned, rubbing his eyes._

" _Just keep your phone on. You're on call today." Barry groaned, the choice to stay up all night becoming more of a mistake each passing minute._

" _Iris—" Joe gasped, turning to his daughter before letting out the loudest screeching laugh I've ever heard; gasping for air, cackling wildly at the sight of Iris face down in her oatmeal, snoozing soundly. Reaching into my pocket I grabbed my phone, zooming in just enough, before snapping the photo. Barry and I could barely breathe, as we both attempted to wake poor Iris up. I've never seen Joe laugh so hard in my life._

* * *

I knew the minute I took it I was including it in the gallery. I'm just glad it turned out for a phone picture. It took a lot of arguing and schmoozing to get this space back. I had to play the guilt card more than once while pleading my case. Seven months later than planned, but I was able to get the space back, squeezing in between two other renters. I had the space for one more day, giving me the entire day to network while packing everything up. It wasn't the full week I paid for, I'm just lucky I was able to use it at all. I smiled at pictures of Iris and Barry from our shoot at the park, of my parents' anniversary shots, my neighbors playing checkers outside the apartment building.

I stopped in front of a smaller picture, this one of Barry and me. Iris and Barry insisted I needed to be in at least one. So I set the tri pod up to auto shutter, and managed to dive onto the park bench next to Barry. He caught my legs, helping me steady myself. We were whooping and cackling like lunatics; he caught me just before I fell on my ass. I wrapped my arms around his neck, steadying myself. Our eyes, locked, wide with shock that he actually managed to catch me, smiling bright toothy smiles. You could barely see my face, but Barry's was clear as day; full of surprise, and unadulterated joy.

I downed the rest of my wine glass.

I sighed gruffly, shaking my head. It's been months and still nothing. The best scientists around and they still can't get him to wake up.

Iris and I visit when we're allowed; she and 'Detective Pretty Boy' I mean Eddie Thawne spend most of their time together now. It's been quite the challenge keeping their relationship from Joe, but so far I've managed to keep my trap shut. Not much gets past Joe West, I doubt this relationship slipped through the cracks.

"Could have really used you here tonight, I was nervous as hell." I sighed, collecting the half empty wine glasses.

"What a waste, this was good wine too." I muttered, pouring it into the trash. There was still a glass or two left in the bottle. Waste not, want not. Being the classy lady that I am, I passed on another glass, and began swigging it straight from the bottle. I spun around the room, cleaning up trash, hors d'oeuvres napkins, and wine glasses singing to myself. I love to sing, especially by myself. I feel like I'm way better than I am when I'm alone. Up and down the scale I fluttered, determined to squeak that 'high c'. With a deep breath, I belted it out. It came out pure and radiant, nothing I've ever managed before. That moment, the wine glasses in my hand burst, showering glass everywhere. My hand glittered as if sprinkled with fairy dust, and I screamed in pain, dropping the stems onto the ground. The noise startled me, the pain in my hand increasing with each flinch.

How the hell did that even happen? I didn't bang them together, and even if I did, they shouldn't have exploded like that. Blood welled in spots all over my hand, bigger shards dug deep into my palm.

"Oh god, nghh, shit!" I gasped, gently dislodging a sizable shard from my palm. This is definitely a hospital visit. Ugh, this is not what I needed right now! I screamed loudly in frustration, my eyes clenched shut. All the pent up frustration I've been harboring these last few months was all released. I heard a deeper crack, stopping me dead in my tracks. Frightened, I whipped around to the giant glass window overlooking the street; a giant glacier-like crack cut through like a knife halfway through before spider-webbing out. My eyes widened at the sight. That's not possible. I couldn't have done that. Oh god, how am I going to fix that? They can't prove it was me right? I don't even know if it was me. It could have been…oh god, I don't know but I've got to think of something before they take every last cent I have to fix that. Shit. Shit. Shit. What the hell is happening to me?

Take a deep breath Lay, it's ok. Everything is ok. Just catch a cab to the ER, they can extract the glass, and you can sleep on it. Right? It's fine.

Everything was not fine though, I knew it, and I just didn't want to admit it. I would be lying if that was the first wine glass I've broken by singing. It was the first window I've broken though. No one, not even an opera singer can crack a window with just her voice. That's not possible. I'm shaking, as I gather my things and close up for the night. Frustrated tears prick in my eyes, as I head down the street, looking for a cab to stop.

If I was being honest with myself, nothing has been fully normal since my accident that night. Bizarre things keep happening that I'm have a harder time convincing myself are just freak occurrences.

A couple months ago, I was singing in the shower at home, belting out musical show tunes, and whatever the hell popped into my head. It was a sultry tune, very 'Jessica Rabbit' sounding, and I was awfully proud of myself. If only I had the balls to sing like that in front of other people I could be living the high life. There was a knock at the door, so I finished up quickly, and threw a robe on to answer the door. There stood the neighbor down the hall. A nice guy, he and his wife always say hi. He looked dazed, just far away. When I got his attention, he seemed to snap out of it, and claimed he couldn't remember what he wanted. He seemed confused, embarrassed even; like he honestly had no idea why he was standing outside my door.

I can hear better now too, better than I could before. High-pitched noises, people coming from far away, my phone can be vibrating and stuffed under my pillow, and I'll hear it from the kitchen. I just chalked it up to Doctor Harmon doing a bang-up job on my ears, but….this is just...impossible. Dread filled me, as I flagged down a cab. There was no explanation I could come up with for why this was happening, none that sat well with me anyways. Whatever this is, I have to figure out how to control it, so I don't break anything, or worse, hurt someone.

Six hours later, I'm fully bandaged, slightly medicated, and thoroughly exhausted. Sleeping now would be counterproductive to accomplishing anything today, but I lie to myself that I'll wake up in enough time to have a full productive morning, and pass out immediately on my sofa.

Ten-forty in the morning found me woken suddenly from a deep sleep, my phone ringing violently by my head.

"Iris!" I yelp, launching myself off the sofa. "What time is it?"

"Almost eleven, why? Did you just wake up?"

"Yes! Oh god, I lost the whole morning this is so bad!"

"Are you home?"

"Yes, why?"

"You'll never guess who ran into Jitters." She sounded excited, even a little shook up.

"Who?"

Just then a pounding at my door made me jump.

"Hold on there is someone at the door,"

"Ryleigh, listen to me, it was—"

"Oh my god!" I dropped the phone, silencing Iris. My heart stopped beating, and I froze solid, staring wide-eyed at the figure in front of me.

"Hey, Layla."

"Barry?"

* * *

 **Author's Note: I swear to god this was eight pages in Word. When I get it on here, it looks like nothing. This felt like a really great place to stop though. Enjoy the cliff-hanger. Reviews are loved and appreciated! Also Bayla vs. Larry -the voting has begun!**

 **XOXO- N**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: I wanted to give a special shout out to GhostlySights, highlander348, Toria-of-fiction, and lovinurbuks. Your reviews made smile, and inspired me to finish this chapter! I'm so happy that all of you love this story so much, as far as if she'll become a hero, you'll just have to stick with me to find out ;)**

 **I also wanted to thank all 18 of you for favoriting this story, and all 29 of you for following it. I'm overwhelmed to say the least.**

 **Just as a heads up, a lot of the dialogue is straight from the show, specifically episode one. I wanted to be as close to the episode as possible from the perspective of Layla. Anything you recognize I take no credit for.**

 **Thank you DC Comics, CW, and cast for without you, this would not exist.** **Special shout out to Grant Gustin, thank you for being the most amazing Barry Allen.**

 **Now, lets see how Bayla is doing.**

* * *

In my doorway stands Barry, beaming at me excitedly.

I will any words to form, but I'm too overwhelmed. I stand there, gaping, unable to make a sound.

He chuckles, shaking his head, as he slowly approaches me, entering the apartment.

My eyes dart along his face, down to his feet, and up again, unable to process what I'm seeing. He makes no sudden movements, just grinning widely at me.

"It's me." He says softly, grinning like a fool. In a flash, I leap into his outstretched arms, crushing him in a bear hug, squeezing the life out of him.

Barry wraps me in his arms, lifting me off the ground. My head buried in his shirt, silently crying in disbelief.

"Are you crying?" He laughs, squeezing me lightly.

"Shut up!" I sniffle, laughing through the tears streaming down my face. "I was so scared, your heart stopped beating so many times I was so afraid—"

"Hey, hey, look. See? I'm ok. Look, its still beating." He grabbed my hand, placing it against his racing heart. I looked up into his smiling face, grinning back. He reached down, wiping away my tears with his thumb.

"I can't believe this, I feel like I'm going to blink and you'll disappear." I whisper in awe, reaching up to touch his face.

"I'm not going anywhere." He reassured, giving me a final squeeze.

"When did you wake up?" I asked excitedly, dragging him into my apartment.

"This morning,"

"How are you even moving right now? When I woke up they wouldn't let me out of bed f—"

"What do you mean when you woke up?"

"Um,"

"Ryleigh?"

"It was nothing compared to you," I mused, dodging the question. Ugh, me and my big mouth.

"What the hell happened?"

"Barry, you just got out of a coma maybe we should save the hard hitting stuff for later." I gave a definitive look, before brewing up two coffees.

"I can handle it."

"You're not going to let this go are you?"

"Not on your life." I sighed, shooting him a scathing look before carrying both cups to the kitchen island.

"I don't know what happened to be honest; I remember leaving the precinct that night. They found me passed out, bleeding from the ears on the street. I woke up a couple months later."

"The same night I was struck by that lightning."

"You were only a few rooms down from me. I was out of it for most of it; they moved you to Star Labs a few days after I woke up. I wanted to see you, but they wouldn't let me." Barry reached across the island, giving my hand a squeeze. "I'm doing great though, better than ever I swear. No need to freak out." I waved my hands, knocking his mug over, spilling hot coffee all over his shirt.

"Ah! Augh, son of a bitch!" I yell, desperately trying to stop the coffee from running all over his pant leg.

"Woo! Shit, hot coffee, hot coffee! They couldn't fix your reflexes I see." Barry panted, waving his shirt up and down, attempting to cool it off. "You still have any shirts you stole from me?"

"Yea, I'll go get one, but I want it back."

"It's my shirt!"

"It looks better on me!" I holler from my bedroom, grabbing one of the many shirts I've swiped from Barry over the years. I dash back out, throwing the shirt a little too high. Barry's hand shot up, catching it with ease. "I see they fixed yours." I nodded, impressed.

He shrugged, stripping off the coffee stained shirt and tossing it to me.

"Holy shit,"

"What?"

"What are those?" I point, eyes bugging widely.

"Oh," Barry smiled sheepishly, flexing slightly.

"How is that fucking fair? I'm in a coma for two months; I wake up with a bad smell. You get chiseled like a Michelangelo statue! How does that even happen?" Barry laughed, slipping his clean shirt on. "I take it you approve?"

"Two thumbs way up," I giggle, moving to replace his fallen coffee cup.

"I can't I have to go soon, I'm going into the precinct."

"You just woke up!"

"Duty calls,"

"Uh uh, they managed without you for nine months; they can go a few hours more. Have you seen Iris yet?"

"Yeah, I ran into her before I came here." He smiled slyly, biting his lip.

"No wonder she called me in a frenzy," I laughed before sliding a second cup in front of him.

"So tell me, what have I missed?"

"I had my gallery last night."

"How did it go?"

"As well as it could have. I sold a couple of images, and most of my business cards were taken."

"That's awesome, Ry. I'm sorry I missed it."

"It was postponed for months and you manage to miss it by a day," I mused.

"I think I get a free pass on this one." I rolled my eyes, sipping my coffee, not giving him the satisfaction.

"I haven't seen Joe yet, you want to come with me?"

"I was coming regardless; you're stuck with me today."

"Just today?"

I grabbed an orange from the counter, throwing it at his head.

"Hey! I was in a coma!"

"Yea and your better now, come on Abs McGee." I called, grabbing my jacket and heading out the door.

"Abs McGee?"

"I'll work on it."

* * *

"Oh, you scared the hell out of us, kid." Joe pulled Barry into a bear hug, relieved at the sight of him. I grinned widely, leaning up against the pillar next to Iris.

"Yea, that was quite the nap you took there, baby face; and you still look twelve." Barry chuckled, shaking his head.

"You look okay. Are you really?" Joe glanced over Barry, conducting a fatherly inspection.

"Yea," Barry assured, his grin fading slightly. Iris and I hovered just behind Joe, unwilling to venture too far.

"Detective West, we have a 560 in progress at Gold City Bank; two dead. Storm's picking up on the south side; I'd grab your rain gear."

"Sorry Barry, I gotta run." Joe nodded, grabbing his coat.

"Do you need my help?" Barry asked, slightly alarmed. I shot him an incredulous look, which he ignored. Typical.

"No you take it easy; there will be plenty for you to do once you settle in. Let's go!" Joe shouted, signaling Eddie to follow. He smiled at Iris and me, giving her a pat on the arm before heading out the door, Eddie following close behind.

"Hey, Allen glad to see you."

"Thanks Eddie." Barry smiled.

"Hey, Iris." Eddie grinned flirtatiously.

"Detective; you should go; my dad doesn't like to be kept waiting." I turned my head, desperately trying to hide the smile threatening to break through. Eddie glanced my way, eyes flashing warningly and I bit my tongue hard to fight the laugh bubbling up.

"Glad you're back." He added to Barry before following after Joe. Barry gazed questioningly after Eddie, only to land eyes on the shrine dedicated to Detective Chyre. He strode over, a forlorn look on his face.

"The night of the explosion, Clyde Mardon shot Chyre."

"Oh god," Barry sighed, shaking his head.

"Mardon and his brother died escaping. Their plane crashed."

"Iris, you got a minute?" Officer Landry asked, ushering her over to him. "Hey, Barry, good to see you!" Barry nodded; "Ryleigh, long time no see!" he beamed. I waved slightly from my spot. Barry stood in the middle of the room, looking lost. I stood back, giving him space. My eyes wandered around the room, observing the station's usual bustle. I haven't been here in, wow, over a month now. I didn't realize it had been that long. My eyes followed Barry's over to a booking in the corner, where two officers had a rather nasty looking guy between them. He locked eyes with me, giving me a disgusting smile, puckering his lips, and blowing a kiss at me. I grimaced, revolted at the action. It an instant, the guy moves his hand, reaching for the officer's gun. Before I can cry out, papers begin to fly around the room, and the criminal is slammed into the desk, where the officers subdue him. I blinked, shaking my head at the sight. What the hell just happened? Iris and I dash over to Barry, who looks incredibly shook up.

"Are you ok?" Iris asks, taking in his alarmed state. She and I share a look. Something is wrong.

"I'm fine. I just need some air." Barry insists, still obviously flustered. "But I'll call you tonight, all right?" Iris stands confused, as Barry dashes out of the precinct. Something's wrong, I can feel it.

"I'm on it." I assure her, before rushing after Barry.

Whatever happened had Barry spooked. I've never seen him act that way before.

"Barry? Barry!" I ran outside, only to find a dented police car with a broken back window. Ok, don't panic, don't panic. He's fine. You are acting like an overprotective mother. Give him space, give him—

'Hey this is Barry, I'm not here right now so leave a message and I'll get back to you.' An earful.

"What was that? What the hell was that? You just wake up and then you have a panic attack and take off without warning us? I swear to god if you don't call me back I'm going to kick your ass, Allen." I shouted, my voice growing louder with each word. I sighed, hanging up, and rubbing my face.

"Any luck?" Iris asked, as I entered the precinct.

"What if he's not ok, Iris?" I asked; worry gripping me in a choke hold.

"I'm sure he's fine. This was probably very overwhelming for him, he did just wake up."

"Yea, I guess so. I'm just worried about him."

"So am I, but he said he would call." She assured, grabbing her coat.

"Does Barry know about you and Eddie?"

"Not yet, I haven't had the chance to tell him." She sighed.

"Are you going to tell him?"

"Eventually, soon I think. I just don't want my dad to find out."

"Barry won't tell if you ask him not to."

"I know, but you know how Barry is about keeping secrets."

"You couldn't tell him anything at Christmas. You used to call him the informant."

"I still do! He gets too excited! He can't even keep his own secrets! Remember how he got you those concert tickets to Maroon 5?"

"It literally pained him not to tell me." I laughed, remembering how he practically flung the box at me Christmas morning. I barely even made it in the door.

"I had to hide those tickets from him so he couldn't give them to you early, you know that right? I think he was more excited about them then you were." We laughed hard, en route to Jitters, a path so traveled, we could do it with our eyes closed.

"He was acting weird though, I wasn't imagining that?" I asked, worry still lingering.

"Yes, but if it was serious, he wouldn't have made it out of the parking lot. It was probably too much to take in right now, he'll be fine. In the mean time, you have to try this new latte I'm working on; it goes amazing with our cronuts."

"I love being your guinea pig."

* * *

"What do you think?"

"I think I'm going to need another cronut to really determine the meshing of flavors." I nod professionally, dunking the last bite of cronut into the graham toffee latte.

"I think that it will cost you $1.75."

"I think that is highway robbery."

"I can't let you milk the system all the time; my boss will start to notice."

"Speaking of milk, maybe you could try 2% instead of whole."

"That is a good idea,"

"I know!" I beam, "I'm full of them. Also, tell Deborah I'm really feeling a sign in the window saying, "Go nuts for cronuts".

"I'll get right on it." Iris shook her head, rolling her eyes before taking an order at a nearby table.

"You know, you can sit with me. I don't bite." I glance behind me at Eddie, taking a seat.

"Actually, you do."

"That was one time Thawne and I was very drunk."

"Yes, what was it you said? I was so cute you could eat me up?"

"You have an excellent memory. I hate that."I grimaced slightly, tampering my embarrassment. Tequila is not my friend.

"It's funny, I never took you for a biter;" He grinned wickedly, enjoying my discomfort.

"I always took you for a wise ass." He chuckled, his shit eating grin never leaving his face.

"Iris got a good kick out of it." He teased, leaning back in his chair.

"I know I was in rare form that night. Glad I could help set you two up."

"Yea, well, your seal of approval helped." He relented, giving me a thankful smile.

"You two seemed to hit it off, she just needed a nudge. How are things with you two?"

"Really good actually, I hate sneaking around Joe though. He's got to be onto the charade by now."

"Not a lot gets past Joe, but you would know if he knew." I smirk, thinking about Joe's face if he knew Eddie and Iris were together.

"Can I help you, detective?" Iris approached the table, an air of detest in her voice.

"You can stop acting like you can't stand me when your dad's around." He replied sulkily, giving her his best puppy dog smile. I roll my eyes, smiling. He's so charming it's stupid.

"Aw, but I like having a boyfriend who isn't shot to death." She replied, cupping his face, before leaning in for a kiss. I sip my coffee nonchalantly, smirking wildly into my cup.

"You two are so cute it's disgusting." I chide, laughing as they deepen their kiss slightly. My smile drops as I catch a glimpse of Barry, who stopped stark still, gazing at the couple. Shit. Iris glances up, seeing my upset face. Her gaze follows mine and she locks eyes with Barry. Her face falls, and she slowly stands up from Eddie's lap. Oh god I know that look. His eyes meet mine, and I can't help the pitiful look I return him. This isn't how he should have found out.

"Well, uh, that's my cue. I will see you Eddie. Iris." I nod awkwardly, grabbing my half empty coffee cup.

"I'm coming too, Eddie I—"

"No, I get it. I'll see you later, ok babe?"

"Yeah, I'll call you." She plants a kiss on his cheek, before following me over to Barry. We walk in silence for a bit, no one making eye contact. I walked behind them both, giving them space.

* * *

"You can't tell my dad ok? He doesn't know about me and Eddie."

"Doesn't seem like anyone is in on the secret," Ouch, ok I'm in trouble.

"I was going to tell you." She sighed, "When you were in the hospital, Eddie covered my father's shifts so we could both be with you. I thanked him with a cup of coffee and things just kind of happened. And it's good." Barry didn't look convinced.

"Dating your partner's daughter? Isn't that against department regulations?"

"Why are you so upset?" Really Iris?

"I just don't like having to lie to your dad." I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms in irritation. We stopped under the bridge, both of them locked in a stare down. Here it comes…

The wailing of police sirens caused us to turn around, only to be met with a speeding police cruiser going too fast to be in control. Barry grabbed Iris, rolling them out of the way. I was frozen in place, my eyes widening as the car zoomed toward me; the siren blaring louder and louder as it neared.

"Ryleigh!" Barry shouted from the ground.

I closed my eyes in panic, waiting for impact, throwing my hand up in defense. A rush of air, flung from my hand. I opened my eyes in surprise to see that the car was pushed away, turning abruptly the other way. I locked eyes with the panicked police officers in the car, and the blonde haired man in the black car they were pursuing. I shook, staring at my hand, my eyes wide in fear. I couldn't have…that's impossible.

"Ryleigh!" Iris cried, wrapping her arms around me in a tight hug. "You could have been killed!" She admonished, gripping me tightly. I looked over at Barry, but he was gone.

"Where did he?"

"I don't know, I think he took off after that car they were pursuing. Come on!" Iris grabbed my hand, dragging me after her.

"Iris, Ryleigh, in the car!" One of the officers called. Shit.

"Can't have you roaming around after that, girls; we'll let you out as soon as it's safe." They offered, before speeding off.

We both sat pressed against the glass, looking for any sign of Barry and the black car. Fog started creeping through the air, growing thicker by the second. We slowed down, struggling to navigate. Sounds of tire skidding and metal scraping just ahead startled us.

"Requesting ambulance, there has been an accident en route; arriving at the scene to assess further." The officer in front spoke into the radio.

"Sending ambulance to your location, arrival time will be five minutes."

"Alright ladies, Joe is going to kill me, but we need to let you out here." The officer pulled over to the side of the road, letting us both out of the car. We thanked him before making our way towards the accident.

"You didn't see him did you?" Iris asked worry etched in her features.

"No, you don't think—"

"Let's just look first before we get ourselves worked up." Iris replied, level-headed. One of us had to be.

The scene was horrific; flames were dying down where the black car had been struck by another vehicle, both turned over. I clasped a hand over my mouth at the sight. That was definitely the black car that the police were in pursuit of. The guy however wasn't in the car. The driver of the other car wasn't so lucky. We found Barry just a ways from the accident. I could hear the ambulance sirens in the far off distance.

"Are you ok? What happened? Where did you go?" I questioned excitedly, checking him over; only a bloody scratch on his forehead from the looks of it. I breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

"I recognized the driver and took off after him."

Ambulance arrived, and paramedics, exhumed the body of the man, wheeling him away.

"That poor man," Iris replied solemnly. "The way that fog came in…I have never seen anything like it."

"Barry! Ry! Iris!"

"I'm all right; Dad."

"What the hell were you thinking having her out here?" Joe admonished Barry. The three of us were taken aback. Iris and I jumped to the defense, but Joe whirled on her before she could utter a sentence. "And I told you when you see danger you run the other way. You're not a cop!"

"Because you wouldn't let me—"

"Damn right! And what the hell are you even doing out here Layla? This is too dangerous!" I suddenly felt like I was five again, and my eyes dropped to the ground.

"Joe, we need to talk,"

"It can wait,"

"No, now." Barry walked away from us, looking warily at Joe. "I know who did this."

Joe nodded for him to continue.

"It's Clyde Mardon. I know, everybody thinks he died in a plane crash after the STAR Labs explosion, but he's alive." Joe only nods, but the look on his face tells me he's less than receptive. "Look, something happened to him that night, I—I think he can control the weather." My eyes widen at this, and I glance between Barry and Joe expectantly. "The recent robberies; they all happened during freak meteorological events. And when I just confronted Mardon, the street was instantly enveloped in fog." Joe stood silently, staring at Barry. I bit my lip in disappointment.

"Of course you don't believe me." Barry sighed, shaking his head in frustration. "You never believe me."

"Okay. You want to do this now? Out here? Fine. Mardon is dead. There is no controlling the weather, Barry. Just like there was no lightning storm in your house that night. It was your brain, helping a scared little boy accept what he saw." I shook my head, frustration filling me.

"My dad did not—"

"Yes, he did!"

"Joe!" I cried, stepping up between them.

"Stay out of this Layla, you are not helping him! He needs to accept what happened, stop encouraging this!" Joe shouted, jabbing a finger in my direction. I was taken aback, my eyes hardening in anger.

"Your dad killed your mother, Barry! I am sorry, son, but I knew it, the jury knew it, and now he's paying for what he did."

"Dad, enough!" Iris stepped in, grabbing her Dad's arm.

" I have done my best to take care of you since that night, and I have never asked for anything in return not even a thank you. But what I do ask now is that you for once in your life see things as they are." Tears of anger and hurt shone in both their eyes, their confrontation drawing the attention. Joe reached out, but Barry side stepped him, storming off. I locked eyes with Joe, frustration and anger boiling through me. He looked away, and I took off after Barry.

Fury and frustration rolled off him in waves, it practically crackled with each step he took.

"Barry?" I called softly, rushing to just catch up to him. He didn't answer. "Barry?"

"I don't need to hear it from you too!" Barry yelled, not even bothering to turn around.

"I wasn't! Joe just needs—"

"What? Proof? I saw Mardon; I saw what he can do! Joe's never going to believe me, so how about you stop trying to play peace maker!" He boomed, not even once glancing back at me.

"Barry—"

"Just leave me alone!" I watched him stalk away, and I growled. I was shaking in anger now, and with a strangled scream of frustration, I kicked a cement wall. The shriek amplified, adding power to my kick, and as my foot collided, the wall cracked, the toes of my boots going right through the wall forming a small hole. Spider web cracks danced through the concrete up the wall. A small scream of fear escaped my lips, and I clamped a hand over my mouth, staring wide-eyed at my handiwork. Oh my god, this isn't possible, this can't be happening! I shake my head, unwilling to believe what I've done. My toes throb from the impact and I back away slowly, eyes darting about to see if anyone witnessed. Barry was far enough gone, he didn't see. I grip my hair, tugging slightly in panic before fleeing down the street back to my apartment.

* * *

I sat in the window of my apartment building, singing loudly to my worn Eric Clapton record. It was fuzzy in certain places from playing it so often, but it was my favorite; it has the acoustic version of 'Layla'. I stole it from my Dad when I was fourteen, even after he bought me my own copy for my birthday; sentimental reasons. I have a vast collection, but I have a small stack I keep separate. Aerosmith's 'Toys in the Attic', Billy Joel's 'Essential Hits', John Denver's 'Leaving on a Jet Plane', Cream's 'Disraeli Gears', The Soundtrack to 'Eddie and the Cruisers', and of course, Eric Clapton 'Unplugged'. Music helps me think, it helps me calm down, to unwind. Watching the sun rise up, illuminating the city, I slumped against the window frame, lack of sleep finally getting the best of me. I was too afraid to sleep, too riled up over Barry and Joe, too tense from all the crazy things that have been happening to me. This isn't normal. I can't keep denying something is wrong with me. Whatever it is, if I don't figure it out soon, I could seriously hurt someone.

I hear a gentle tapping at my door, but I make no move to answer it. The knocking persists, just as gentle, but I close my eyes, letting the music waft over me instead. I'm not ready to face him.

" _What'll you do when you get lonely, and nobody's waiting by your side?"_ I hear a muffled voice on the other side of the door. I smile, my eyes still closed.

" _You've been running and hiding much too long, you know it's just your foolish pride."_ Barry's voice grows steadily, as he sings off key against the door.

I crack an eye open, the desire to open the door, growing. I'm still mad at him for yelling at me. Let him wait out there.

" _Layla, you've got me on my knees, Layla, begging, darling please. Layla,"_ I stand up, slowly making my way over to the door.

" _Darling won't you ease my worried mind?"_ It really does work every time. I open the doors, letting it swing open slightly revealing a sorry looking Barry, holding a coffee cup and a yellow rose with a long stem. I stand at the threshold, my face stoic and arms crossed.

"Hi," He starts awkwardly, smiling sadly. I continue to stare at him, refusing to answer. "Can I come in? No." His shoulders slump, "Well, these are for you. I'm sorry for yelling at you like that. You've always been the buffer between Joe and I with that and I didn't want you to try to make it better than it was. You have a way of doing that, you know?" I raise my eyebrows in agreement, before returning my gaze to him. "You're the only one who didn't think I was crazy all these years. You believed in me." I fought to hide the smile that was twitching into view. "Well, I'm going to go; I'm going to see my dad. Call me when you're not mad anymore ok?" He placed the rose and the coffee in my hands, before smiling sadly at me and turning to go.

"What kind is this?" Barry's head perked up, turning around slowly.

"Toffee almond,"

I smiled, taking a sip.

"With a shot of espresso; figured you didn't get much sleep last night," he shrugged, a knowing smile on his face.

"Can I come with you? I haven't seen your dad in a while." I asked, glancing up at Barry. He smiled wider, shaking his head.

"He'd like that. So would I actually, I need to talk to you about something. Later though," He added, seeing my inquisitive face.

"Alright, let me get my coat."

* * *

"Hey Slugger, Layla! Good to see you." I waved at the glass, smiling, backing away from the phone.

"You've been calling me that since I was eleven. Funny thing is, I finally got into a fight today." I glanced down at Barry. Henry and I shared a glance, the glance of a worried father.

"Yeah, I did." I smiled at Barry, giving him a nudge. Henry chuckled, eyes crinkling with mirth.

"You didn't kill Mom. You know I know that right?" I bowed my head, moving away to give them space, but Barry grabbed my hand before I could leave. He squeezed gently, pulling me back towards him. I glance at Henry, who nodded. I resumed my stance next to Barry, placing my hand on his shoulder for support.

"You know you're not going to be in here much longer. Whoever killed mom…whatever killed her…I think I finally have a way to find them; to stop them." I squeezed his shoulder. Henry's grave face shows his stance on his son's new found discovery is the same as it's always been.

"For the first time, I feel like I finally can." Barry replied, smiling hopefully at his father, eyes shining. He placed a hand on the glass, Henry matching his son's hand perfectly. They sat for a moment, in silence, memorizing the other's face, before Henry nodded at me. Barry stood up, handing me the phone, freeing up the seat. I glance at him uncertainly.

"Its fine, he wants to talk to you." Barry nodded.

"Hi Mr. Allen,"

"Layla, what have I told you before, call me Henry." He admonished kindly, eyes crinkling once more. "Ever since you were little you've been looking out for my son. I should be calling you, slugger." I laughed, glancing up at Barry, his eyes danced merrily at the interaction.

"You have an amazing son, Henry. The best friend any girl could ask for. You raised him well." I felt a squeeze on my shoulder.

"Sadly, I wasn't there for most of it."

"Don't sell yourself short; the first eleven years are the most influential." I offered, to which he grinned widely, chuckling.

"He's lucky to have you, Layla." Henry replied, nodding. "You take care of him."

"He's stuck with me."

"Good. I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Thank you, Henry." I smiled, my own eyes becoming glassy.

I motioned Barry to stoop down, so we could share the phone.

"I have to go, but I love you both. You take care of her, you hear me? She's a good girl." I blush bashfully, grinning like a fool.

"Always, Dad, She's stuck with me." Barry wrapped his arm around my shoulders, pulling me into a crushing hug. Henry grinned, waving at us both, before hanging up the phone and escorted away.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Lots of Barry, lots of development, and lots of Iris & Joe love because they are amazing. More of Layla's power development coming up. I really want her to come into her own with this. She's been denying them for months. Reviews are loved and appreciated. They help the writing process. **

**XOXO- N**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: First of all, I just wanted to say how overwhelmed I am by the out pour of love on this story. All 43 and 76 of you reviewing and following are amazing thank you so much! I can't tell you how much this means to me.**

 **A very special thanks to highlander348, Anonymous Guest, Kingdom Hearts Slayer, PonchoV, Blacklab369, and sparky1201. Thank you guys for the amazing reviews! They have honestly been my motivation to sit down and finish this. I couldn't have done it with out you.**

 **Secondly, I'm sorry it took me so long to post this chapter, I've been so busy lately and haven't had time to sit down and finish it.**

 **A good amount of this chapter is directly related to episode two. Any dialogue you recognize is taken directly from the episode. I'm so excited about how this chapter turned out, and I hope you like it as much as I do. Extra special shout out to the CW and DC for giving us hours of thrills and entertainment. Without you Layla could not exist.**

* * *

I pace nervously back and forth, working up the courage to test an ability I'm not even sure I'm ready to believe exists. It's a huge step, admitting that something has happened to you that you can't explain, and I'm still debating whether or not I want to fall down that rabbit-hole. Currently torn between wanting to turn a blind eye and hope it eventually goes away or embracing what could be a truly amazing new lifestyle. It's a coin toss.

Curiosity of course, gets the better of me, and once again, I determinedly face a glass of water, placed decidedly on the kitchen island. Taking a deep breath, I attempt to center myself, concentrating on movements and direction.

This is crazy. Isn't it?

Before I can talk myself out of it, I stamp my foot hard against the wood floor, pushing with my hands, directing the sound waves towards the glass, shattering it; throwing two stools across opposite sides of the room, a resounding crack echoes as one plows into the kitchen island.

Clamping a hand over my mouth to muffle a yelp of surprise, I stare wide eyed at my handiwork, dumbfounded by my ability.

My eyes widened at the splintering stool, lying broken against my front door. A wave of panic rose in my chest and I backed up against the counter, trying desperately to take deep even breaths. This isn't possible. All those broken wine glasses, the broken window, the police car...I can move stuff. I can break stuff. My mind was reeling; panic and curiosity battling for control.

Cautiously, I set another glass, further away, on the floor closer to the front door. This time, turning on the radio to muffle the sound, cranking the eighties rock station full blast. The sound electrified me, my heart beating a mile a minute. I felt amped up, like I snorted a line of coke. My hands shook with anticipation, as the guitar rift sped faster and faster. I could feel the vibrations of the speaker, pulsating through the air, thumping in my eardrums.

It was invigorating, it was amazing, and it was terrifying.

I've never felt so alive before. The vibrations rippled down my arms, into my palms making them tingle violently. I gasped in fear at the sensation, and the excitement quickly gave way to panic. No longer focused or steady, I shook my hands attempting to get rid of the sensation. With a yelp I shut my eyes, hearing the sound of glass shattering and furniture banging. I swung my hand as I dropped to the floor, knocking the radio off the counter, silencing the room. A door slammed shut down the hall.

"Is everything ok in there?" So much for muffling the sound.

"Um…yea I'm ok."

"Do you need me to call 911?"

"No! No I'm fine." God no, 'Hi officer, no, no one broke in. Yes, I did this myself. Why? That's a great question.'

"I'm going to keep my door open ok? Just holler if you need help ok hunny?" The only time I wish I didn't have helpful neighbors.

"Ok, thank you, Joyce." I sat still as a statue waiting for her tell-tale stride back to her apartment; the door never closing just like she promised.

I lifted my head wearily to assess the damage. Holy shit, no wonder she came knocking. It looked like someone ran-sacked the place. The couch flipped over, landing right on the glass coffee table, shattering it. Papers and magazines strewn all over the floor, picture frames shattered, broken glass littering the floor. At least one broken window and the sliding glass door to the balcony boasted a deep fissure.

Tears welled in my eyes, as I took in the sight of my apartment. The pulsing ceased in my hands, but the ghost of the vibrations still tingled on my fingertips. Well I learned two things today: I can manipulate sound, and never ever should I try it at home. Good thing I have that job with the paper lined up; this one is definitely going to cost me. Swift rapping at the door jolted me upright, a wave of panic washing over me.

"Open up! I'm juggling here!"

Oh god, Iris.

Oh god, my apartment.

Alarms were sounding off in my brain as I raced around in futile attempt to fix up before opening the door. Kicking the stool to the side, I took a deep breath before yanking the door open just enough. Iris beamed at me, handing over a manila folder and a very large, steaming coffee.

"Hey! I am so sorry, I completely forgot we were meeting up, I got preoccupied." Not a lie.

"Yea, well you're not the only one. I still can't get a hold of Barry. Don't forget, the interview is tonight. Basically, you and I are covering the speech. You take pictures and I ask questions. They want at least 30 images so they can choose the final two."

"I know the drill; they gave me the run down. This is your first big article though, you nervous?"

"No, but if I ace this, I get a 95 for the class and don't have to do the final project." Iris beamed.

"No pressure." I smirked, skimming the contents of my folder.

"So you gonna let me in or what?" Shit.

"Um, why don't we go to your place? Swing by the precinct?" Bullet dodged.

"Yea, alright; go get your camera so we don't have to double back."

"Sure, just give me a second." Be cool, Ryleigh. Be cool. Iris' eyes squinted with suspicion as I reached behind me, cracking the door just enough before sliding through once more.

"You're being weird." Iris called through the cracked door, after me.

"Place is a mess!" I shouted, furiously searching for my camera bag.

"Like that's new—holy shit! Ryleigh! What happened?" Fuck.

I turned slowly, eyes wide with panic desperately trying to think up any reason.

"Were you robbed? Are you ok? Let me call my dad, he and Eddie can get here in five minutes…"

"No! Don't do that!"

"What? Why! They destroyed the place. Was anything stolen? What if they come back?"

"No! Stop! Everything's fine! Um—I did this!" Shit. Why did you say that!

"What?"

"Yea…I was moving stuff around and lifted the couch…and...broke…everything."

"You broke everything."

"Yup."

"The couch broke your window."

"I got over zealous?"

"I know you aren't lying to my face right now." I know you wouldn't believe me if I told you.

"Ok, fine, but please don't judge me ok?"

"No promises."

"I had crazy wild sex with one of the neighbors downstairs."

"You stacked everything on top of each other and tried to push it across the room again."

"That's more believable than crazy wild sex?"

"The only neighbors downstairs that you know are the old guy with the cats and the night jogger."

"Back sweat gets me all hot and bothered." I purred, winking seductively before dodging Iris' back hand, cackling wildly.

"You're disgusting, get your stuff now." I gathered my equipment, breathing a sigh of relief.

* * *

"This is all your fault. I could've taken European folklore to cover my sociology requirement, but no. You said take journalism Iris; reporters have all of the fun. Guess what Barry? Reporters have none of the fun. Journalism is boring. I'm bored. I blame you." Iris exclaimed, barging in full speed ahead, coming to rest inches away from Barry staring expectantly. I waved silently, beaming madly at his bewildered expression; his eyes settling on her, taking her all in.

"What? Why are you staring at me like that?"

"You look really nice." Shit, here we go. He gives her half a smile, careful to put distance between them. He can't hide it in his voice though.

"Thanks…why don't you look nice?" Barry glances between us, desperately grasping for a hint.

"This afternoon…suit and tie…the university is giving Simon Stagg…"

"Simon Stagg," Barry nods apologetically in realization.

"Won some big award, and you agreed—"

"To explain the science stuff for your article, it's all coming back to me now."

"How fast can you get home and change?"

"Uh, pretty fast." I huff in response, Iris shoots me a glare.

"Hey Allen, Joe asked me to see where you're at on the evidence from the gun store shooting." Eddie in his most professional voice, blowing right past me without so much as a nod. "Oh, hey Iris" oh please! As if you didn't notice her the minute you walked in the room.

"Detective," her response came out positively breathless. Barry and I lock eyes, discomfort practically radiating off of him.

"Please, guys, uh, just kiss already. I already know, remember?" He smiles walking away, deliberately focusing on his work as Eddie and Iris break the façade and embrace.

"Hey, you ok?" I ask, nestling on the edge of his desk, blocking the view.

"Yeah, fine." I swallow my retort, and take the high road.

"Whatcha got here?"

"Lab results from a robbery." He answers, still refusing to make eye contact. Yeah, well, no one ever called you mature.

"Ugh, thanks for being so cool about this, Barry. I know it's not easy keeping a big secret." Oh my god I'm surrounded by five year olds.

"I'm getting used to it."

* * *

"What do we know about Simon Stagg?"

"He's a rich blow hard that donated a ton of money to science so he's getting a reward for being a good person."

"That's what you're taking away from this?" Iris scoffed, gratefully accepting a champagne glass.

"Hey, they aren't paying me to kiss his ass, that's your job. I'm just here to look pretty and take a few money shots." I dilated the lens a little before testing the range. "Hmm, this should be good, I doubt we'll be able to get any closer. Thanks for coming by the way," I turned to Barry, shooting him a wink over my shoulder.

"I wasn't aware it was optional."

"It wasn't." Iris smirked, nudging him before taking a sip of champagne. I nestled in front of Iris and Barry as Simon Stagg was presented his major award.

The room fell quiet as he gave his acceptance speech, and I had to hand it to the guy, he keeps it short and sweet. Come on, just lift that shiny little trophy a little higher "To be standing before you now, the regents choice for 'Man of the Year'"…perfect. Give me a wave, oh my god, by the book. I take back what I said; this was the easiest job I've ever had. "Thank you all very much for coming." No, thank you Simon Stagg; for the easiest rent money I've ever made.

"Okay, first things first; Simon Stagg's work in cellular cloning has led to huge advancements in organ replacement." Iris nodded along, her eyes lighting up as the champagne tray glided by.

"Are journalists allowed to drink on the job?" Iris asked grabbing two glasses of champagne.

"No, but photographers do." I motioned to Barry, for her glass greedily.

"If you are bored already just wait until we get to the science behind cellular regeneration."

"Riveting," I rolled my eyes, taking a long deep sip of the bubbly liquid. God bless Simon Stagg.

"I have missed this, Barry! I feel like we haven't spent time together since you woke up from the coma." Iris laced her arm with his, and I smiled warmly at my two best friends. I didn't know how much I missed our science lectures. How his face lit up talking about the wonders of the universe.

"Yeah, I've had a crazy few weeks. I know."

"I thought maybe you've been avoiding me because of Eddie. I know you think its wrong, me dating my dad's partner and I've just—"

"No, that is not it. At all," Barry stopped, taking her hands in his. Oh god, no, no, no. Not here. His gaze intensified. Iris' eyes widened, waiting expectantly.

"Oh, oh! Mr. Stagg! I was wondering if I could get a quote from you for my article." Iris bounded after him, pen at the ready.

"Not now, Miss," Stagg waved before his handler ushers him off.

"I'll just make something up," she shrugged. "So, what were you going to tell me, you look like you were about to say something." Iris looks up expectantly, and I can't help but wonder if she knows what's coming. Barry's smile falls, a look of intense determination clouding over once again. I feel like I should be anywhere but here, but my feet won't budge. I recognize the clicking of a barrel a second too late. I seize Barry's arm in a death grip as rapid fire gunshots resound behind us. We spin around, facing multiple men decked out in black, their faces covered by ski masks. Barry yanked my arm, pulling me down into a huddle, holding our arms in death grips. Iris' eyes darted between the three of us, exposing the crack in her rigid, calm demeanor.

"Quiet down, all of you! Quiet! How considerate. You're all wearing your finest jewelry. Almost like you knew we were coming to rob you. Now, everybody line up." The six men flanked us, herding us like cattle into lines.

"Keep moving," One of the masked men prodded a woman in front of us, who stupidly hesitated, clasping her glittering bracelet protectively. "You," he pointed to me, barrel of the gun aimed straight for my chest. "Over there," he nodded towards the second line forming across from us. My eyes widened, and I could feel Barry and Iris' grips tighten on my arm. "Now!" I nod; wriggling my hand away, each step I take is like lifting cement. I smile faintly at Barry and Iris whose gazes do not leave mine.

People dump their valuables into sacks like a collection plate. I drop my rings and necklace into the sack, but he doesn't move on. Do something, anything! Stomp your foot, send him sprawling into the wall! My foot twitches at the ready. Broken chairs and overturned couches melt to people in my mind's eye; littering the floor bloodied and broken, heads colliding into walls. Just the thought drains me of resolve, and I glance up at the masked man questioningly. He motions to the camera strap. I'm going to heave right into his bag. He snaps his fingers, pointing again to my bread and butter and I have to decide right here and now if this six hundred dollar hunk of plastic is worth a possible bullet in the head. My hand shakes as I remove the strap from my arm.

A wave of nausea sets in when I hear it 'thunk' against the jewelry. I bet he's smiling under that hood the bastard. Finally satisfied, he moves on down the line. Barry stares determinedly after them, making to follow. Iris grabs onto his arm, talking him down from doing something incredibly stupid. All six men, satisfied with their ill gotten gains make their way for the doors, synchronized down to their gait. I lock eyes with Iris, frantically glancing between the armed assailants and her before darting into her and Barry's outstretched arms.

"Those sons of bitches, they took my camera." I quietly wailed against Iris' arm.

"Freeze!" All six men about face, challenged by a lone security guard, gun poised at the ready, unsure where to aim. "Drop your weapons!" he booms, his voice shaking slightly. All six fire at once, Iris and I letting out screeches of terror. The sound rippled through my vocal chords. I hear the tell tale sound of glass shattering, one of the men and I lock eyes, before they once again make for the exit.

"Are you ok?" Iris asked, her chest heaving in panic.

"Yeah, fine." My voice shook as I scanned the area for any other casualties.

"Barry?" Iris called, panic resonating. "Barry?" I whipped around, to a wide-eyed Iris and no sight of Barry.

"Oh god, don't be stupid. Don't be stupid!" I mutter to myself, racing around trying to catch a glimpse of him. I knew I wouldn't though, not in here.

"Ryleigh! Stop!" Iris called, but I refused to slow down. I rounded the corner to the steps locking eyes with a very much alive security guard who's bewildered gaze matched mine, his eyes darting between me and the emergency exit.

"Barry!" I called, taking the stairs three at a time almost falling more than once. Scrambling through the door, I caught the tail lights of a black van, barreling out of sight. My throat burned as I choked on ragged breaths.

"Barry!" I choked out, sprinting the last few meters before dropping next to him. Out cold. "Barry. Barry. Barry." I chanted, smacking his face repeatedly. I can hear Iris' stilettos clack against the steps.

"Ryleigh!" she burst through the door, the emergency alarm resounding.

"Over here!" I shouted. "Barry. Barry. Barry, come on Barry. Barry!" his eyes opened slowly, my fingers gliding along his cheek soothingly, helping him focus. "Morning sunshine," I quipped quietly, causing him to sit up with a jolt.

"Barry! Are you crazy? What the hell happened, I turn around one minute and the next your gone! Are you okay?" Iris dropped down next to me, assessing the damage.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I went after them to try to get the plates, and I fainted."

"When you get these great ideas, do you ever stop and think, 'hey maybe don't do that?'"

"No." he grinned cheekily at me, before allowing us to help him up.

"Come on, Dad's more than likely looking for us."

We made our way back inside, spotting Joe and Eddie in the middle of the hall.

"Hey," Iris flashed a half smile, toting us behind.

"Where were you?" Joe questioned flatly, locking eyes with Barry.

"Dad, go easy. I found him outside. He fainted."

"Do you want me to get you a paramedic, Allen?" Eddie offered. God, I can't tell when he talks if he's being genuine or being a genuine douche. Maybe both? I shot him a side glare. A small flicker of a smile curved his lip. Definitely both. That's fair, I can live with that.

"No, I'm fine. Thanks, Eddie." Someone's embarrassed.

I tuned into the guard giving his harrowing escape from the firing squad. Something didn't add up. He couldn't have moved out of the way himself, it's…impossible. So is breaking windows and moving police cars with the sound of your voice.

"Ryleigh!"

"Hmm?"

"You ok?" Eddie raised his eyebrows questioningly.

"Uh yea…fine. Excuse me." Cautiously, I make my way over to the dazed officer, waiting for CCPD to be done questioning. Once alone, I made my approach.

"Hi, I'm sorry; I just wanted to thank you for what you did today. Stepping out into the face of certain danger like that; out armed, and out manned, it's nothing short of heroic."

"Just doing my job, ma'am," he nodded, still overcome by recent events.

"Thanks are still in order. I'm so glad to see you're alright, you weren't hit were you?"

"No, I wasn't."

"Oh thank god! It was all such a blur I didn't even see you move. I went looking for my friend and there you were in the stairwell."

"That's the thing, I don't remember moving. One second, I have bullets flying at me, the next; I'm standing in the stairwell unscathed."

"You don't remember how you got there? Did someone help you?"

"I don't know. I wish I did, it all happened so fast."

"You must have some kind of guardian angel. Thank you for your bravery. I'm glad to see you're alright." I shook his hand before heading towards ground zero. Forensics and officers bustled around, taking statements and shouting orders. I've seen my fair share of crime scenes, if I'm going to start my own investigation I have to be careful where I step around here. I sauntered up to where he stood approximately, scanning the floor for scuff marks, residue, any type of tracks. Whoever saved that guy was moving faster than the human eye can perceive.

"Hey, Ry. We're gonna need you to clear out. You give your statement yet?" An officer approached me, police tape in hand.

"No, not yet."

"Thawne will take it down. Stay safe now." He nodded, ushering me off. So much about this day seemed off. A man is saved from speeding bullets in a blink of an eye. Six gun men working fully in unison down to their movements manage to elude police as they haul off in a black van. I glance over at a group of officers taping off shattered glass, multiple windows blown in; shards of glass glittering in a heap on the marble floor. Well, at least I know where that came from.

* * *

Five hours of sleep left my brain going in circles, trying to piece the puzzle together. I'm going about this all wrong, I can feel it. When dealing with the impossible, it's time to pay a visit to my favorite forensic scientist. Two steaming venti cups in hand, and a box of Jitters finest cronuts, I drop off my gift on Joe and Eddie's desk before making my way up to Barry's office. I stop short, noticing the very cold standoff between Joe and Barry.

"Helloo," I call joyfully, raising an eyebrow at Barry.

"Ryleigh," Joe clapped my shoulder before marching back downstairs.

"Why is Joe mad at you?" I ask pleasantly, setting down his oversized coffee.

"Work stuff." His reply was short, brooding. He refused to even look up.

"Hey, if you keep that up I'm about to be mad at you." He glanced up, frown cemented in place.

"You're not already?"

"No, but iris is. You were supposed to meet her at Jitters to help with her article."

"To help her with the science aspect, I—"

"Forgot, yea she knows. Now she has 24 hours to come up with a new topic or she'll fail. What gives Allen?"  
"I know I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize to me; I'm here with coffee and a listening ear. You wanna tell me why both West's are mad as hell at you and why you're flaking out all the time? Don't you dare tell me nothing Barry Allen so help me god," his lips clamped shut swallowing his answer. "I am your best friend damn it, you don't think I know when you're ecstatic, or upset, or lost, or when something is bothering you? Whose window did you knock on in the middle of the night when everything seemed hopeless and you wanted to run? We're the impossible team!" I felt a whizzing in my ear, almost high pitched, but didn't make my head pulse. I've gotten pretty good at distinguishing ultra sonic sounds, but this one was new. As quick as it appeared, it vanished. "Talk to me!" Barry held my gaze, neither one of us moving. Before he could answer, a machine dinged across the room, ripping our attention elsewhere.

"This is so not over, by the way." I warned, peering over his shoulder at the screen.

"Impossible." He breathed, scanning the images. "There was a murder last night. These skin cells belong to the murderer, but these are naïve. Stem cells, they can replicate and become any cell the body needs."

"Stem cells, like the kind they get—"

"From babies,"

"I mean, I've heard of having a baby face but," Barry glanced over his shoulder, amused and slightly judgmental.

"Fuck you that's funny," I huffed, grinning madly up at him. His face cracked, a genuine laugh burst forth.

"Finally, glad to see you've still got a sense of humor. Now, down to business: you say this is impossible. Didn't you have another impossible case earlier this week? Don't feign innocence, I remember seeing the case file on your desk. The guys all were about the same height, same shoe size and everything, knocked over that gun store? Wouldn't you say it was convenient that later in the week six guys hold up a benefit ceremony with automated weapons and all about the same size?"

"Where are you going with this?"

"What if they're linked?"

"Then we'll figure it out."

"That guy that was killed, hey, that's Stagg's handler right? The guy that ferried him off at the ceremony?"

"You know I love it when you play detective, but how about you don't go poking your nose in my case files huh?"

"The security guard that faced off against the thieves; he claims that he was pulled out of the way in a flash. He doesn't even remember moving! One minute he's about to die, the next he's standing all the way in the stair well. Something isn't adding up, Barry."

"What are you getting at?"

"What am I getting at, he says? You said it yourself, those skin cells are impossible. We know all about impossible. Maybe, there is more than one type of impossible out there. I just mentioned three offhand."

"Where are you going with this, Ry?"

"There are anomalies all over these cases. What if they're linked? I did some research last night—"

"Couldn't sleep?"

"Of course not, and look what I found! Articles within the last month thanking a mysterious red streak for acts of valor around Central City; no one sees its face, no one knows what it is."

"And?"

"And? Barry! This could be the clues to the puzzle! There are impossibles out there, and they're close." I should tell him. It's so out of the blue; he's going to know something is up. If my hunch is right, those guys who stole my camera may be the same kind of impossible as me. Maybe they know how they became the way they are. I've seen them with my own eyes, if I can find them again; I can have a better clue as to who I am now and where these impossible abilities come from. Just tell him, Ry. He deserves to know.

"Have I ever told you how brilliant you are?" He beamed, shaking his head.

"Never enough," he chuckled, pulling me into a side hug.

"Say your right and these guys have impossible qualities, snooping around, asking questions, can get you unwanted attention. They've already seen your face. They open fired on a lone security guard, who knows what they'd do to someone like you. And if they aren't impossible, then they are highly trained criminals with automated weapons and that's still something I don't want you going up against. So for now, just forget about whatever this is, and let the people with badges handle the bad guys ok?"

"You sound like Joe."

"Never tell him that."

"I don't know, what's in it for me?"

"Indian food and movie night tonight, your place,"

"What movie?"

"Your choice,"

"An excellent bribe: DiCaprio marathon, yes that includes the early years, after work, I'll order."

"Absolute deal."

Barry and I head down to drop off the skin cell findings to see the entire precinct buzzing like a hornets' nest. Officers strapping on vests and radios buzzing, all giving the same red alert.

"Singh, what's going on?"

"Not now Barry there's armed gunmen shooting up Stagg Industries."

Barry's eyes grew wide. "Joe's there."

Now, I could do one of two things. Go back to my apartment, browse for new cameras online and wait around for Joe to get back safely, and Barry to be done work, or test out these abilities on the assholes that robbed me and are attempting to murder a dear friend and father figure.

* * *

Ok Ryleigh, do what you know, stay in the shadows, and when the dust settles you get a face and a name. Breathe. Just breathe. This isn't stupid. Not stupid at all. I have to figure out a better system of getting here, preferably before the boys in blue. Before I could form a full game plan, a red streak burst through the side entrance almost knocking me over. Oh my god, it's real. It's actually real. There are more anomalies. I knew it! I knew I was right. My heart swelled in delight. I'm not alone.

The scraping of feet jolted me out of my revelry, the hollow echo of boots on metal rung in my ears sending me on high alert. Where are you? No, no. Steps are unified. The sound wave reads too strong for one set of feet. Figures dressed in black stride past on the roof.

There you are. What the hell? My eyes widen at the sight as each of the six men begin to vibrate until their very bodies blur, absorbing back into one sole figure. Oh my god. Ha! Haha! Oh god, I am in way over my head. I watch his retreating figure disappear over the ridge of the roof. Every cell in my body wants to follow him, find out who he is.

No. It's too risky. I have no idea what I'm doing. What if I can't stop him? He's seen my face; he knows who I was with. That puts everyone at risk. Damn it! I slam my fist against the cement wall, the force producing a small dent. A sliver of a thought trickles down into consciousness, interrupting my pity party. I may not know who you are, but I know who you're looking for. Time to pay a visit to Simon Stagg.

Who knew this leather body suit would ever come in handy? I may not have the best boyfriend track record, but today I have no regrets dating a racing nut. Thank god I still fit. Mostly. Yup, that's gonna chafe. Hopefully this five dollar Zorro mask holds up. Ok, just breathe. Stay focused. You're in control. I knelt, cloaked in darkness, outside Simon Stagg's office. Carefully, I slip in, hoping to make little noise as possible. It's just him, no other guards in the room. It's now or never Ryleigh.

"Simon Stagg." I cooed, from the window sill.

"Who are you? How did you get in here?"

"Who is trying to kill you?"

"Who isn't trying to kill me, lady? Now get out of my office before I call security." He made for the phone. Gently, Ry. With a wave of my hand, and a low hum in my throat, I directed the wave towards Stagg, knocking him to the ground. Good. Smaller motions, quieter sound equals smaller impact. Good to know.

"I'm not going to ask again." I growled, strutting towards him. He glanced up at me, surprised, his face paling. It wasn't until I got closer that I realized he wasn't looking at me.

"Hello Danton." He nodded, picking himself up. Slowly, I turned, my skin prickling in fear; behind me stood my puzzle piece. Two clones, on either side of him, his lip curling in a sick smile.

"Goodbye Simon." He raised his gun, firing two shots. The gunfire rang in my ears, and in a wide, panicked sweep of my arm, I stupidly tried to block the bullets. A streak of red lit up my vision, sweeping behind me. I realized then and there that I should have been dead and yet, there I stood, unscathed.

"Hm, another one." Danton cocked his head in surprise. "I didn't think there'd be so many."

"Who are you? How can you do that?" I demanded.

"Sorry, but I'm not here to talk." Smirking, he multiplied ten-fold, each one branching out, looking for their target. Oh fuck.

"When did you get your powers?" I pressed, screaming defiantly.

"I could ask you the same question; though I take it you don't know." Frustration gnawed away at me, this will not be a dead end.

"I know Stagg stole your research, but that doesn't give you the right to murder." A commanding voice called out below us. So the red streak does have a face. A gunshot rings through the lab, and I take the opportunity to strike, a scream ripping through me, reverberating through my punch. The body collapses, but it's not the real Danton.

"You think this is about my job?" Groans and growls emanate across the lab; streaks of red light his path of destruction. Well, at least he's on my side. "This is about Elizabeth. She was my wife." Another gunshot. A clone, attempts to take me down, with the butt of his gun. I stamp my foot, sweeping my arm out, knocking him over the railing, falling three levels down. "I was so close, until Stagg stole my research for the glory. I got to bury my best friend. Now…I'm alone."

"Hyah!" I bellowed, kicking another clone, sending him sprawling backwards, flipping over a desk. I was losing steam, my chest heaving with fatigue. Don't quit now, Gallagher. You're too close. Glancing down, I saw the Streak facing off against Danton. Both of us turn to see the real Danton, vibrating profusely, an army of clones reverberating into being. They were multiplying too fast. Like a hoard of zombies, they pounced on the Streak, enveloping him until he was lost from view.

Without a second thought, I leapt over the railing, plummeting feet first to the ground. One shot Ryleigh, make it count. Pointing my elbows back, I geared for impact, roaring out a fierce war cry. My feet boomed against the floor, thrusting my arms forward. What followed could only be described as a mini earthquake, the floor rippling up like a physical sound wave, crashing into the mound of clones. Seconds before impact, a red streak zoomed out of the clone pile to safety. Physically drained, and thoroughly relieved, I sank further down into the hole I created.

My victory was short lived, as each of the clones sprang to life, charging after us. Gotta find Danton. The _real_ Danton.

Steel up, Layla. Come on. Find him. My eyes darted, hoping to find a sign, anything to tell me which one was the real one. There wasn't enough time; they were closing in on me. My senses were on overload, there were too many to isolate. I geared up; ready for what might be my last stand.

One sent a punch to my gut, another to my cheek; metallic filled my mouth. I parried, knocking one back into the hoard, not before earning an elbow in my back. As I dropped to my knees, looking up at my assailants, each one began to drop like flies, littering the floor. I glanced around haphazardly, confusion setting in. My eyes locked with the red caper himself, chest heaving, releasing a breathy chuckle. I could just make out the silhouette of Danton by his feet. I smiled back, exhaustion setting in, and my head slumping against my knees. Glancing up to thank my crime fighting wing man, a cold chill ran up my spine as Danton stood up, ready to charge.

"Look—"the Streak whirled around, stepping out of the way just in time, sending Danton barreling through the glass. Like lightning he sped forward, dangling over the side, attempting to pull Danton back to safety.

"Hold on!" He bellowed, "No! Don't!" His head slumped forward in defeat. Silence filled the lab.

Gingerly I picked myself off the floor. God I ache all over. With a heavy sigh, I assess the damage of my escapades. You know what, it could have been worse. Stepping out of the crater, I winced as the bruises started to take form.

"You ok up there?" I called, a yelp escaping me as he appeared in front of me. The air prickled with electricity in his wake, stinging my face. We stood silently, gauging each other.

"Who are you?" he questioned, softly, but firmly.

"I could ask you the same." I retorted, not ready to show my hand. I thought back to the Lightning Man of Barry's nightmares. "They say you're quite the hero; saving people from burning buildings, taking on vengeance seeking clones."

He smiled at the comment, "I like helping." He offered, shrugging.

"Maybe you can help me." I said, eyeing him expectantly.

"I thought I just did." He smirked wickedly, before speeding away.

"Hey wait!" I called after him, taking a few steps in vain after him.

"Yeah?" His chuckle resounded behind me, and I whirled around to see his smirking figure once more.

"You didn't tell me your name."

"You didn't tell me yours." He countered, crossing his arms.

I thought about my voice that can shatter glass. I thought how a screech can cause a floor to ripple like waves and a wave of my hand can send bullets askew. How a song sang just right can lure men to my door, dazed and confused.

"Siren," I nodded, meeting his eyes. "Call me Siren."

* * *

 **Author's Note: Just throwing this out there: Siren and The Streak would make a GREAT band name. So much development. With a new found name and an alliance with the Streak, Layla slipping into her role pretty easily. Can't wait to see how this develops! Reviews are absolutely loved and appreciated.**

 **XOXO- N**


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: Hi everyone, sorry for taking so long to update, lots of personal stuff happening, but I'm hopefully back for a while and working on a few really great chapters. Also, forgive the errors, I get so excited when I finish these chapters I end up posting them immediately and I miss a lot of things. I will try to go back and edit at later times when I have better concentration.**

 **Special shoutout to Sparky1201, jenwithagrin, GhostlySights,xRedMoonx, Kaddy 16, GayMexicanBatman, and Shade Michels. Thank you all for your reviews, you guys were truly inspiring and helped me complete this chapter. I've got so many ideas I can't wait to get them all down!**

 **Disclaimers: Certain bits of dialogue are taken directly from the show, anything that looks remotely familiar is not mine. Grant Gustin is a gem.**

* * *

"You look like hell."

"Bite me," I snarled back fumbling with my key. My nosy, disgusting neighbor across the hall is a douche. Actually I don't speak to him much, but right now, he spoke and that's good enough for me. His beady eyes stared blankly, jaw slack, watching my bedraggled ass fail to get into my apartment. I shoot him a scathing glance waking him from his stupor. He has a mustard stain on his shirt, and I look like hell? That's right, scurry back into your apartment.

A click of the lock and the door swings open to—oh god. I could cry right now. Broken glass shimmered in the morning aura; furniture upturned and splintering. Tears of frustration prick my eyes.

I'm a train wreck.

I'm beaten, exhausted, and my only lead is dead. Well, not my _only_ lead.

" _Heyyy I think I love you! So what am I so afraid of? I'm afraid that I'm not sure o—"_

"Whoever this is, fuck off." I hiss into my phone.

"Rough night?"

"Rougher morning," I growl, flopping into bed, burrowing deep under the covers.

"I'm on my way over."

"Funny, I didn't invite you."

"I'm bringing coffee."

"My apartment's a mess."

"Your life is a mess; I'll be there in ten."

"Damn it, Barry!" I huff, vaulting my phone across the bed. This is worse than a hangover. My body is screaming in agony. Deep purple bruises splotch brilliantly along my abdomen, definitely a few on my back. Tiny scrapes and bruises litter my limbs and a lovely gash graces my cheek.

"Ughhh whyyy!" I wail, the pillow muffling my scream; bad mood, bad day, worse night. Shuffling out into the kitchen, I released another of many screaming fits. Next door banged furiously at the wall.

Fuck him, Fuck Barry. Fuck! It's nine in the morning! Why couldn't my powers be super speed, or magic? Where's that speedy guy when you need him?

Powers…

No, no. Bad idea, I couldn't.

I feel like the Grinch, standing here pondering my wonderful, awful idea. Giving into curiosity and divine temptation, I saunter to the doorway, opening it slightly. The faces of Night Jogger and Mustard Stain appear in my minds-eye. I focused on their faces, any detail I can recall. Intent flooded my brain; power pulsating through me tingling my fingertips.

I hummed notes clear and vibrant, a sultry melodious tune wafting past the door frame into the hall. I hummed an entire verse, and part of the chorus, before full on belting out the last of it. My heart raced, eyes darting up and down the hall to see my success.

Nothing.

I stood silently, baited breath. This is stupid…and wrong…and clearly not working. Maybe last time was a fluke. Maybe I have to be in the shower or naked. A gentle rapping made me freeze in my tracks. I stood unmoving, eyes wide and trained on the door.

No way.

'Tap' 'Tap' 'Tap'

Cautiously, I open the door. Night jogger and my gross annoying neighbor stood, slightly dazed in front of me; their eyes glazed over. No fucking way.

"Fellas, hi! Thanks for stopping by. I need some help making this place shine. Help a girl out?" I smiled sweetly as they nodded stiffly, pushing past me.

"You guys are the best, now I'm going to need both of you to move the couch, and you," I pointed to night jogger, "what's your name?"

"Brent."

"Brent! Could you be a doll and sweep up that glass for me and,"

"Todd,"

"Todd, right, you look like you're really good with wood. Mind bagging up that mess in the corner?" Both nodded absently, though the effect was starting to wear off. I switched an Etta James record in and quickly began crooning along to it. Both men's eyes fogged once more. Do I feel like I bad person? Completely, but I figure if women can flirt and bat their eyes to coerce men, what's the difference? I could have asked Barry, but that would have lead to questions and lies and, well, this is definitely better. Besides, now I know what I can do. I have more control. No more poor married men wandering dazed and confused. I'd call this a successful test run.

God I'm going to hell.

Back sweat and dirty tee shirt made quick work of the apartment. I wonder if they will remember this. I should make them something, no, bad idea I don't want to kill them.

"Thank you guys, you're amazing."

"No problem." They both smiled, their eyes clearing up.

Gazing around the apartment, confusion set in, sparing glances between each other and occasionally back to me.

"How—"

"Guys, thank you again. I really couldn't have moved that couch without you. I promise I'll make it up to you." Oh god, get out get out get out don't ask questions get out get out!

"But—"

"I'll order a pizza, it will be great," Pushing them out the door. Oh my god I'm the worst, but oh look at my apartment, it's so clean…

I glance at the clock, releasing a deep sigh of relief. Thank god Barry is perpetually late. Exhaustion and a deep ache set in, making me regret his impending arrival. First things first, I need to get my shit together. A jumbo bag of frozen mixed veggies shoved up my shirt, I nestle down into the couch, laptop at the ready. One of my leads is dead, but there are others out there. My 'friend' in red has become my number one lead.

'Fast man in Red, Central City' I typed in to the search bar.

' _The Streak Strikes Again'_

 _Central City's fast man has done it again, rescuing two civilians, one a young girl from their burning apartment complex. Police and Firefighters were still minutes from the scene, when they were pulled out. This masked man was reported unrecognizable, moving in a blur. Citizens have dubbed this red blur 'The Streak'._

' _Who is The Streak?'_

' _Red Blur sighted in Central City. Citizens dumbfounded.'_

' _The Streak: Hero or Threat?'_

The Streak and Mass Multiplier and I have one thing in common. We are all in Central City. Whatever gave us these abilities has only manifested within the last few months, year tops.

The Particle Accelerator.

It has to be! Whatever happened when Star Labs launched their Accelerator must have molecularly altered us. I may be taking Doctor Harmon up on his 'if you have questions call' offer. Asking the source is risky, even though Cisco, Caitlyn, and Dr. Wells have been nothing but friendly and helpful with Barry. I've seen E.T. the idea of becoming a government experiment sent chills through my body. Nope. Nope. Scratch that, new tab. Focus Ry, Barry is on his way.

Hours ticked by and no sign of Barry, and for the first time in my life, I'm grateful for it. I'm sore, exhausted, and don't want to have to answer questions like: 'what's wrong, Ry? Why so moody, Ry? Why is there a giant bag of frozen veggies shoved up your bra, Ry?'

Late afternoon sun filtered through my broken window, as well as the sounds of bustling city. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes, attempting to focus on one particular sound. A car…no truck spluttering down the street, a taxi driver yelling obscenities at the driver in front of him, someone is playing the piano somewhere in the building down the street. I feel like I traded in my old ears for a pair of HD ones. Everything comes in so clear; don't even get me started on range that blows my mind. I don't know how far, but I'm having fun testing it out especially on the angry couple three flights down. I call them 'The Young and the Furious'. Today, Angelo threatens to sell Nicole's cat after it was caught throwing up in his shoes. Angelo believes it to be a conspiracy since his shoes are its only target. Nicole threatens to take over the cat's work if he dares to get rid of Princess who is with kittens. So far only one plate has been smashed.

A knock at the door interrupts my covert eavesdropping. I don't have to answer that. Ugh, yes I do. Dragging myself off the sofa I open the door coming face to face with a sheepish looking Barry, holding a coffee cup.

"This better not be the one I was supposed to get this morning." I eyeballed.

"I'm sorry, I was supposed to swing by before work, but something came up and then I ended up being for work and—"

"Save it, I don't care," I waved dismissively, shooting him a playful grin before ushering him in.

"Iris wants to do dinner and movies; what do you want to see?"

"The inside of my eyelids," I quip, flopping back down onto the sofa.

"Come on, it will be fun, what could you possibly be doing tonight?" Barry exclaimed, plopping down next to me, gazing expectantly.

"Plenty,"

"Nothing,"

"I look like shit,"

"You look fine."

"Barry—"

"Layla—"

"No, don't you start with that, not fair!" I yelled petulantly. He chuckled, flopping over into my lap. We sat in silence for a moment, our laughter subsiding.

"Go to the movies with us." Barry deadpanned, his head resting my lap.

"Fine," I replied sullenly, glancing down at him a grin slowly spreading across my face.

* * *

"Regular movie scale that was like a seven or an eight; zombie movie scale, it was, like, a four. Tops."

"There's a zombie movie scale?" Iris questioned in disbelief.

"Of course there is! How scary they are,"

"How realistic,"

"Gore factor,"

"Did you know that zombies exist in nature? There is a species of fungi that infects ants causing the ants to attack plants that can release spores," I shook my head smiling, shoveling another handful of popcorn into my mouth. Locking eyes with Iris, I shot her a wink. "Which in turn infect new hosts—" He glanced between the two of us, fully aware of our silent conversation. "I'm going full nerd again, aren't I?"

"Yep."

"Yea." He nodded, immediately shutting up.

"It's okay though! You are still the cutest nerd that I know. Anyways, I am a lot more interested in the amazing as of late." Iris boasted, popping another kernel into her mouth.

"Because of 'The Streak' thing?" Barry sighed, clearly annoyed. I on the other hand, perked up immediately.

"He's out there! People are talking about him."

"How do you know he's a he? Maybe it's a she."

"It's a man, okay? You know I'm really intuitive about this kind of stuff." Barry raised his eyebrows mockingly at me, and I giggled, spilling a little popcorn on the street. "Someone posted a picture after being yanked from a car accident. It's a red blur leaving the scene. Here, what do you see?" She whipped out her phone, pulling up her evidence. Eagerly I shoved myself next to Barry, only to see Eddie's picture pop up before I could snatch a peak.

"I see your boyfriend is calling." Barry replied stoically. Come on Barry, get a grip. We're having a nice time!

"Oh. I should probably get this. I'm crashing at his place. He's supposed to leave a key for me. Hey, babe. What's up?"

"Hi baby!" I cooed obnoxiously over her shoulder. Both Barry and Iris shot me glares as she walked a few steps away for privacy.

"Jealous much?"

"No."

"Oo very jealous; hey, be happy for her okay. We like Eddie. We're rooting for Eddie, and honestly, I want to find out if his thing is crooked because that might be his only flaw."

"You're unbelievable." Barry snickered, rolling his eyes.

"It's a gift." I shrug. Barry's phone buzzes in his pocket, "Damn, you too huh?"

"Barry—hey, Ry could you buy me another popcorn?"

"Yeah sure, extra butter?" Barry nods, waving dismissively. Okay then, sure. That's fine. "Hey, Iris do you—Barry?" I glance around noticing I am one friend short. Weird he was right there two seconds ago. Iris had her back to me, chattering away with Eddie. Oh well, no popcorn for you. Marching back into the theater I see the line steadily growing, packs of people all standing together in groups. Ha! Forget it.

"Popcorn line is ungodly long you can stand in it yourself." I quipped, approaching Iris and a now present Barry.

"You wanna grab a bite? I feel a little famished."

"After the Mongolian barbeque we had before the movie?"

"And the extra large popcorn we had _at_ the movie? How are you not fat? Have you seen his abs? What the fuck."

"I've been jogging."

"Well shit, if I knew that actually worked, I would have gone ages ago." I scoffed, looping my arms with Iris. "So, tell me more about 'The Streak'.

* * *

Turns out my man in red is a real Johnny-Do-Good. Iris hooked me up with an arsenal of blogs, articles and blurry photos to make me feel like I was tracking the 'Loch Ness Monster'. Lucky for me, I'm a frequent boarder of the Impossible Train; now to broaden my search. Tracking him down, is probably like catching lightning. I began to scan any articles in the surrounding area sporting any headlines involving crime, disaster, bizarre occurrences-Aha! _'Darbinyan Family Found Dead'_ I know that name, why do I know that name? _Police are investigating the homicides of the notorious Darbinyan Crime family found dead inside a local restaurant. No suspects are listed as of yet, but a ruling poisonous gas as cause of death. Police believe that the gas was funneled in from outside, but no eye witness accounts cannot confirm suspicious activity, claiming that the street was empty._

Okay, two possible outcomes. One, The Darbinyan family were some nasty people and no one wants to get a vigilante in trouble, or two, no one saw because it was an inside job. Let's see, police were unable to locate canisters or any type of containers…all victims members of family…so either we've got a rogue member on a suicide mission, or we've got an impossible situation. I like my odds. Looks like I'll be paying Barry a visit today.

"Barry, I—I am interrupting, sorry." I glanced awkwardly between Barry and Caitlin? I know I walked into one of those deep, private conversations because damn I could cut the awkward tension with a knife right now. Barry lept up from his chair, while Caitlin collected lab results. "Should I come back later?"

"No! No, it's totally fine! I just didn't expect you; not that I mean that in a bad way, I'm just surprised to see you that's all."

"Right,"

"It says that there was no residue of gas in the tissue, poisonous or otherwise."

"Must've evaporated; we'll need to get a fresh sample."

"Wait, this can't be right, this says that there are two distinct strands of DNA inside the tissue."

"How did someone else's DNA get inside the victims' lungs?" Caitlin and Barry poured over the lab results, switching into full science mode, my presence forgotten. That must be the Darbinyan case; must be hard if Barry called Caitlin in for assistance. Slipping quietly behind them, I scanned the desk looking for paperwork on the case. I took a few shots as nonchalantly as I could, before pocketing my phone.

"You guys are busy I'll swing by later. Nice seeing you Caitlin."

"Available units, we have a report of a toxic gas attack in the Central City shopping mall." God bless my new ears, I grinned as I exited the precinct.

I need to come up with a better transportation system than running. Half way to the mall I had to flag down a cab because _someone_ decided not to wear sneakers on recon day! Racing into the mall, I see crowds of people congregating around the elevators as Mall Police desperately tried to keep people at bay and the area secure. A red blur blew past my peripheral vision on the second floor, no doubt in pursuit of the criminal. Pushing through the crowd, I took a chance, and hopped on the downward escalator, leaping up two at a time. Where are you? Where are you? There! On the ground, oh my god he's choking. He looked up at me, fear in his eyes, gasping for air.

"Oh god, I don't know how to help you!" I screeched, panicking wildly. I froze on the spot as green mist oozed from his mouth and nose, floating away from the scene. A gust of wind blew past me, knocking me off my feet. Red's gone, and so is the gas and damn it, this is why I need a bike. I stood up, kicking the wall, the frustrated scream causing my toes to plow through the tile. Glancing around nervously, I extracted my foot, making a bee line for the exit. Not before seeing the tail end of green mist.

Cautiously, I followed, debating the level of stupid I was. This thing is a poisonous gas that just killed someone; I am most definitely in over my head. The mist hovered towards an emergency exit, before synthesizing back into his human form. Oh my god, I know that face!

"Hey neighbor,"

"Nope," I shouted, slamming the door shut on douche bag neighbor. Darbinyan crime family, come on, come on! I whined, waiting for the search engine to boot. Okay, any cases, Oo plenty of cases, most of them thrown out, but wait! Aha! Here we go, Kyle Nimbus, a notorious hit man for the Darbinyan crime family was sentenced to death for multiple murder accounts in the first degree…his execution is marked for…that's the day the particle accelerator exploded. Oh my god, Nimbus must have synthesized with the gas giving him his morphing abilities. I remember when Joe worked on this case; he was the one who made the arrest on Nimbus. I remember that day, he had been tracking him down for over a year, couldn't pin it on him. That was a month long court event. Members of the Darbinyan family testified against him for reduced sentences. That's why he killed them. That woman dead, that's Theresa Howard…the judge presiding over his trial. Shit! He's going after everyone involved in his sentence. Joe. Joe is in serious trouble. I have to do something.

* * *

"Eddie! Eddie listen to me is Joe there? I have to speak with him."

"No, he's not he went up to Iron Heights, why? What's wrong Ry?"Eddie questioned sensing the urgency in my voice. Fuck! "I have to go, just have him call me." I hung up, racing out the door. I hope to god I'm not too late.

"Joe! Joe? Excuse me; has a Detective Joe West been here yet?" I asked the officer at the desk. He took in my disheveled appearance, eyeing me suspiciously.

"He's here now visiting, what do you need?"

"I need to speak to him urgently." I insisted, my chest heaving from running up the steps.

"Ma'am are you okay?" The officer questioned.

"I'm fine, I just need to speak to Joe immediately I'm a friend of the family and I have to tell him something. I've been here before. I added, as if flaunting a VIP pass.

"Name?"

Ugh! "Layla Gallagher."

"Let's see, ah yea, right here, you come here with a Barry Allen a lot to visit Henry Allen."

"Yes, that's correct. Joe is Barry's guardian and a very good friend of mine and it is _so_ important that I get back there and speak to him." Come on, keep it together, don't get a tone or you'll never get back there. If I learned anything from talking back to Joe is that cops _hate_ attitude.

"You'll have to wait until he comes out."

"I've visited with Barry loads of times, and I see that he's back there talking to Henry, would it be alright if I went back too? Just to say hi?"

"I'm sorry ma'am. Detective West is on police business." Damn it! Ok, don't panic. I dropped onto a waiting room seat, brain buzzing in fury. Glancing through my phone, I tried once more to call Joe. I heard the buzzing from the officer's desk and I knew I was shit out of luck. Fantastic. Hmm, wait a minute…No! No. No. Manipulating gross neighbors is one thing, but a cop? An officer of the law? An officer of the law that can throw my ass in jail if he figures out what I was doing? Well, I better find a damn good lawyer.

Flicking through my arsenal of music, I located the most sinfully femme fatal song I could find. Taking a deep breath, I pressed play and began humming along with it, my intended victim in mind.

' _Why don't you do riiiight like some other maaan dooooo'_

' _Get out of heeeere get me some mooooney tooooo'_

The officer's shoulders began to slump, his posture rendering slack. His eyes glanced my way, and I took the cue, swaying suggestively toward him, humming along. His eyes glazed over, waiting expectantly. Good. Very good.

"You're going to let me into see Joe West, and you're going to forget I was ever here."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good." Damn, I gotta say, I love the way it feels. I smiled sweetly, following the guard down the hall. "I know my way from here darling, thank you. Oh, and what's my name?"

"Layla Gallagher,"

"Forget that too." I added, before dismissing him. The adrenaline rush of power coursing through me is utterly intoxicating. I could get used to this. The sounds of wheezing and choking filtered through the doorway, and I threw open the door to see green mist vacating an officer. Joe and Henry watched on in horror as the mist took shape.

"Nimbus? You're supposed to be dead!"

"Same to you." Nimbus faded into Joe, causing him to choke and convulse.

"No!" I screamed, a wave of panic engulfing me. I don't know how to stop him. He's in mist form, he is going to react the same way to any of my powers. Think Ryleigh think! Come on! As Nimbus exited Joe, I let out a feral screech, projecting the sound waves. The gas rippled, almost dissipating before escaping through the air vent. "Damn it!" I look down to see Joe, convulsing on the floor. "Come on Joe, stay with me," A strong gust blew past my face, and there stood The Boy Speed Wonder in all his glory, hovering over Joe, brandishing a rather large injection needle. I watched with bated breath as he silently injected Joe. Glancing between Henry and me, he let out a gasp before blurring his face. Joe's began to stir, his eyes sliding open.

"Go get him." In a flash, he was gone, and I wordlessly crawled over to him, but before making eye contact with a very wide-eyed Henry. I called in an ambulance for Joe, chancing a fearful glance up at Henry. He made no move to speak to me, only nodding gravely. Go get him. Nodding back, I speed out the door, donning my mask.

Speeding outside, my question is already answered by the growing green fog just outside the prison. I break out into a run, my feet pounding the pavement. With a guttural shriek, I send a sonic sound wave barreling into the mist, causing it to waiver and The Streak to go sailing through the air, landing in a heap.

"Whose side are you on?" He bellowed, leaping up before the mist can overtake him.

"Sorry!" I shout, cringing slightly.

"We need to tire him out, force him back into his physical form!" he called, leading Nimbus in the opposite direction.

"I have an idea, lead him to me!"

"Are you crazy?"

"Trust me, and when I say, get the hell out of the way!" Climbing up into a nearby tree, I stand on the highest branch I can reach in record time, as he speeds towards me, Nimbus in tow. "Move!" In a blink, The Streak splits to the left, Nimbus attempting to spread himself thin to reach both of us. Leaping out of the tree, I release a guttural shriek, slamming my feet into the road. Asphalt breeched, like colliding tectonics' and I directed the sound wave directly into Nimbus. The impact ripped through him, causing him to full dissipate. Nimbus wobbled into physical form, heaving with fatigue. He smiles, before phasing back into smoke.

"Split up!" he shouted, dodging an onslaught from Nimbus, narrowly missing being engulfed. Nimbus changes tactics, careening towards me with full force, a malicious smile ghosting in the billowing smoke. I'm out of breath and out of options, the smoke cutting off any escape route. Closing my eyes, I cover my face, hoping to block out as much as I can and just charge through him. Oh god, I'm going to die. Steeling myself for the inevitable I feel my feet give out, and I'm whisked down the street, into the clean, open air. Tilting my head I meet eyes with The Streak. His eyes lock with mine and a shock jolts me. His eyes, I know those eyes. Before I can speak, he sets me down on my feet. Right, Kyle Nimbus, bad guy; focus Ry. Kyle began wheezing, the mist dissipating back into his human form. I'm winding down, if we don't take him out soon, we won't make it out of this. Running up, I wound up, landing a punch square in his gut, sounding off a war cry that launched him clean into a tree, denting it. Kyle rolled to the ground, panting wildly, unable to move. A buzzing noise I couldn't quite distinguish and Flash flashed a grin my way before touching his ear. Ah, intercom. So he has friends.

"We win."

"Nice work," I puffed, flashing him a radiant smile.

"Not bad yourself," he admitted before gearing up to take off.

"Oh, and Barry, thanks for the save."

* * *

 **Author's Note: I hope you guys enjoyed this as much as I did writing it. Reviews are brain food, keep them coming! Love you all! Also, ideas! Ideas, Ideas, Ideas, I love to hear them, I want to know what you want to see so that I can try to work them in. You guys are brilliant!**

 **Muah!**

 **XOXO- N**


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: It's good to be back guys, and as a special thank you for sticking with me after my year long hiatus, here is my longest chapter to date. Special shout out and thanks to: xRedxMoonx, Kaddy 16, GayMexicanBatman, Shade Michels, Mrs. Allen-Queen, GhostlySights, Gilyflower, BloodyBlondeVamp, and gossamermouse101. Thank you for the beautiful re** **views and and extra special thank you to kindleflame5 for the suggestions. This story is far from dead, and will do my best to update more often. Forgive the errors, it's late and I have work in the morning.**

 **Disclaimer: I wanted to stick very close to this episode in certain scenes so certain sections of dialogue are directly from the show and definitely not mine. Cisco is an underrated superstar.**

* * *

Lightning crackled, electrifying the air. My lips curled into a sly smile, as the scarlet speedster careened to a halt in front of me, dropping Nimbus into a heap. He studied, no, scrutinized me, and for a moment a twinge of panic set in. Perhaps I revealed my hand too quick. This is Barry though, my Barry.

His lips parted, gaping like a fish, too shocked for words. A buzzing voice shook him from his revelation.

"What is it, Cisco?" He replied sharply, his eyes never leaving me. Cisco? "A few blocks outside the prison. Good, we're going to need it. I'll be right there." Seizing Nimbus once more, he spared a final glance at me, "Don't move." Yeah, okay. I'll wait here. Sure. Shouting and distant sirens echoed through the night air, closing in on my position. Shit, that's right. I called the cops. Time to go. Now.

Sprinting down the street, I heard the wailing sirens closing in, not a few blocks away. Right, this isn't suspicious, a masked woman fleeing the scene of an attack on an officer. I hope to god that memory wipe worked or I'm in deep shit. Why are you even running? When confronted, just wipe their memories too! The fact that I am comfortable with using my powers on officers of the law is incredibly disconcerting. An arm wrapped around my waist at lightning speed, pulling me into a bear hug. I barely had time to bury my face into his neck before he released me.

"A little warning next time!" Bile rose in my throat, and I shook my head fighting off the nausea.

"Explain." Barry demanded, stoically. Still donning his mask, he exuberated a dominance and intimidation my Barry lacked. I feel like I'm on trial; a bad kid caught in the act.

We were standing on the roof to my building, the flowers I planted dancing in the whipping wind.

"I don't know what you want me to say."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"That's funny, I could ask you the same question!" I fired back, advancing on him. His lips pressed into a thin white line; he's mad. Good. So am I. "How long were you going to keep this from me? Also, Cisco knows? _Cisco_ knows. Before me. I don't even need to tell you how fucked up that is, Barry."

"He's been helping me; Caitlin and Dr. Wells too. Something happened to me when I was struck by lightning that night. S.T.A.R Labs is helping figure out what happened to me; to control it."

"So you're a science experiment."

"No! It's not like that." He sighed, wiping a hand down his face. "When the particle accelerator exploded…it gave people…abilities."

"Like me." Barry nodded, pain etched across his face. I knew it.

"I'm fast now, Ry." He whispered, in awe and excitement.

"And what am I?"

"I don't know." I nodded silently, a lump forming in my throat. This is heavy shit.

"So what now?"

"No one can know I'm The Streak."

"Does Iris know?" Barry looked away, nervously. That would be a no.

"She's going to find out, you know. You're her new obsession. She created an entire blog dedicated to 'The Streak', Barry, sooner or later she's going to put the pieces together."

"If you really feel that way, why didn't you tell us about your abilities?" I fell silent, unable to even look at him.

"I wanted to tell you." I murmured, still not meeting his gaze. A growl of disgust ripped from my throat. "I just didn't know how. We had been chasing the impossible for so long; to finally become one…it's…overwhelming." Chancing a glance, I saw my Barry; frustration and compassion exhausted his features.

"I know the feeling. They're good people Ry, they've helped me tap into abilities I didn't even know I had and control them. Come with me to S.T.A.R.S Lab, let them do some tests and –"

"Absolutely not."

Ry—"

"I am not a fucking science experiment."

"but—"

"I said no!"

"Ryleigh you formed a crater by screeching and vaulting over a railing! You kick a wall and your foot goes right through. If you don't learn to channel this properly, someone is going to get hurt." He's absolutely right, but damn if I'd let him know that. Barry pulled back his mask, his eyes darting, searching my reproachful face. "Do you think I'd even suggest it if I thought something was going to happen to you? This is Caitlin and Cisco, they aren't going to lock you in a cage and dissect you." Barry closed the gap between us gripping my arms tightly. "Look at me. Nothing is going to happen to you. We're going to figure this out. Do you trust me?" Barry's eyes bore into mine, pleadingly.

"Of course," I sighed. Barry's forehead rested against mine, releasing a heavy breath. "Want to come in for a beer?"

"I have work tomorrow, and I'm meeting everyone at the Lab for training; you should come."

"And if I say no?" I raised an antagonizing eyebrow.

"I can't force you. It's your decision," Barry nodded gravely. "Just think about it, and when you're ready I'll be here." His lips quirked, boasting his trademark crooked smile before zipping over the ledge of the roof. My hair blew wildly in his wake, a mere blur against the traffic below. God, what that must feel like. Gingerly, I sunk onto the ledge of the roof, feet dangling over the edge. I closed my eyes, allowing the sounds of city to wash over me; my fingers curling over the concrete edge.

The city roared to life in my inner ear, my body buzzing like a living hive. Traffic, horns, radios, humming, vibrating every nerve. Breathe Gallagher. Absorb it. My fingertips tingled, spreading rapidly through my palms, up my arms; it's utterly intoxicating. I feel like a live wire; I wonder if this is how Barry feels. Maybe I'm overreacting; I mean, it's not like these people are strangers, not to mention they saved my best friend's life. I can't keep running around half-cocked, hoping for the best. With a heavy sigh, I whipped out my phone; my fingers dancing over familiar numbers.

"What time do you want me there?"

* * *

"You're late! You are the fastest man alive, why are you like this?"

"I took the scenic route."

"Around the world?"

"Why aren't you suited up?"

"I am!"

"Is that Ricky's racing suit? Why do you still have that?"

"Because I'm a hoarder, and don't judge me you kept Becky Lambert's gel pen for like 5 years at least I dated Ricky."

"It was my favorite color!"

"Your favorite color is blue you lying sack of shit, now let's go in before I change my mind."

"After you," Barry motioned obnoxiously, holding open the door for me to step through.

"What? Don't trust me?" I teased, hesitantly stepping over the threshold into the building.

"Barry, thanks for finally joining us, and I see you brought a friend. Miss Gallagher, it's been a while, how are you these days?"

"I don't know Doc; I was hoping you could tell me." Dr. Wells glanced between us inquisitively and I prickled under his scrutiny.

"She knows Dr. Wells,"

"Barry, what have I told you about—"

"No, she's the one who helped me defeat Multiplex and Kyle Nimbus."

"So you're 'The Siren', well that's one mystery solved. I hear you pack quite the punch."

"Guess I don't know my own strength."

"That's something we can rectify; we can talk later, everything is set up in the lab." I followed Barry and Dr. Wells down the familiar corridor to the main facility, where Cisco and Caitlin waited, conversing animatedly. Three different stations of games were set up.

"This is training? Sign me up then." I cracked, nodding hello at the two young scientists bickering from their stations.

"Settle in Miss. Gallagher, feel free to observe. Ready Barry?"

"Always,"

"Then let's begin."

* * *

"This isn't remotely atomically correct." Caitlin huffed, waiting impatiently for Barry to take his turn at 'Operation'.

"That's not the point Dr. Snow." Barry grinned, swiftly extracting a piece before speeding back to Cisco at the ping pong table.

"Then what is the point?"

"To have fun," Barry scoffed, not once missing a beat, sending the plastic ball zooming over the net.

"And to continue your ongoing training. We're testing the speed of your mind by pushing your ability to multitask." Dr. Wells called from the adjoining room, a timed chess game before him. Barry zoomed about like a pin ball, bouncing from station to station.

"I'm waiting on you Dr. Wells," Barry grinned impishly, speeding back to Cisco, launching the ball with timed elegance across the table. I feel like I'm watching the Olympics in fast forward. I won't even lie and pretend I'm not impressed. I knew he was fast, I witnessed him in action first hand, but, I don't know, with his mask on he's 'The Streak' another entity all together, but here; here he's Barry: the fastest man alive. His thousand-watt grin stretched ear-to-ear as he raced about the room having the time of his life.

"Penny for your thoughts?" I jumped slightly at Dr. Wells' voice, his eyes never leaving the board.

"He's dizzying," I marveled. I've seen him in action, but this, this was just Barry goofing off, having a laugh; he's amazing.

"He's just getting started, and maybe showing off a little." He glanced up from the board to offer a knowing smile. "Check mate."

"Wait, check mate?" Barry dropped his paddle careening to a halt in front of Dr. Wells.

"Check mate. I guess we still have a few things left to learn, don't we Mr. Allen?"

"Lots to learn you do, young Padawan."

"Ha! Yes!" Cisco pointed proudly, the moment ruined by a beeping emitted from a stand-alone monitor. "Armed robbery at Fourth and Kolins."

"Well, Miss Gallagher, let's see what you can do." Dr. Wells smiled mildly, "Cisco, please fit her with some of the basics."

"Sure thing! Where's your suit?"

"I'm wearing it?"

"Are you serious? No, no, no this won't do at all. Who did you steal this from, Jeff Gordon?"

"Hey! It's the best I got okay?"

"It's going to have to be…is that a Halloween mask? Right, got it. Don't dis the get up. This is supposed to help us monitor you in case you and Barry get separated, that way we can see what you're up against and do our best to help you on this end. How do you feel about retinal cam? I'll take that face as a no. Right, not giving me much to work with. I'm just going to have to fuse this with your suit as much as possible and hope for the best, just try to bring it back in one piece okay?"

I don't think I'm going to dignify any of that with an answer.

"Ryleigh, ready?"

"Sure, why not." Without a moment of hesitation, Barry disappeared in a blink and my legs flew out from under me. Holy shit! Holy shit! Fuck you, Barry! Before I could protest or even will my eyes open, I was abruptly placed on the ground and the world careened to a halt once more; Barry already springing into action.

The vibration of the truck rippled through me as Barry's body collided into it, ripping one of the robbers out of the door. As Barry sped down the street, the robber thrown from the car ripped off his mask in a fury. Our eyes locked, and for the first time I felt very naked under my cheap mask. Shots rang out, and I tore my eyes away from his long enough to see a hostage collapse. The sound reverberated through my ears shooting a current down my arms into my fingertips. I could…feel the residual vibration, oh god this is weird. Oh god, what do I do? This suit doesn't exactly block bullets! The shooter rounded on me, preparing to fire. Panicking, I threw my arms up, a shrill scream of terror escaping my lips as he fired…oh my god, how am I not dead? I peeked an eye open to see my shooter thrown several feet away and Barry hovering over the officer.

"Where's the nearest hospital? Call the ER, tell them they have an incoming GSW. Ryleigh, you okay?"

"I'm fine. I'm—shit!" Engines whirred to life as both robbers sped away. "I'll get them; you get that guy to the hospital."

"No way, it's too dangerous!"

"You can't carry both of us! They're getting away, let me help."

"Stay with the other hostage, I'll be right back."

"Damnit!" I growled in frustration, watching helplessly as the criminals sped off into the distance. I saw his face; this isn't over yet.

Sirens wailed in the distance, the sound speeding closer every second. Come on, Barry.

"We gotta go," Barry huffed in my ear."

"Don't do that!" I screeched, smacking his arm. He grabbed my wrist pulling me close to him once more. Here we go again, this time he gave me a moment to prepare before taking off.

"You going to be okay here? I can drop you off at home." Barry offered, placing me gently down in front of the lab.

"No, no, they are going to wonder where you are. Singh is already on your ass these days."

"You sure?"

"Positive, see you later?"

"Of course!" My grin faltered as soon as he disappeared. Come on, Ry, you told Barry you would play ball, so go in there and play ball. Something tells me this isn't going to go over well.

* * *

"So what your saying is, you expect to just come and go as you please, use our expertise and technology, but I can't run tests to see what exactly we're dealing with. Am I missing something?" Caitlin spat, eyeing me with unguarded vehemence.

"Look, this wasn't my idea in the first place, I'm not getting prodded, poked, and then put on a leash."

"I'm not interested in slapping a collar on you, I'm interested in seeing what you are capable of; aren't you? Dr. Snow is right, you've got a lot of untapped potential, abilities of which you are just scratching the surface. Without training, without testing, you are a wildcard. Through sheer luck, you have managed to do some good, but what happens if you lose your temper? When you are no longer in control? The question is: can you live with yourself?"

"I didn't ask for this," I murmured sharply.

Dr. Wells paused, sparing a glance at his legs. "None of did, but it is the hand we were dealt. You have fared _much_ better than others. I want to help you Ryleigh, I think with help you can be great. Don't do it for me, don't do it for Barry, do it for you. Embrace who you are. Hone your skills, but you are going to need help." I glanced sullenly between the three scientists. Caitlin's stony face revealed nothing; her arms crossed expectantly, waiting for me to give my answer. Cisco's assuring smile could not hide the slight tinge of worry in his eyes. I don't know why this is so hard for me. I know I'm just being stubborn, but I can't shake the feeling like I'm in one of those mobster movies where I'm being given a choice: Kiss the ring, or take a walk. "Do you trust Barry?" Dr. Wells dangled his name in front of me like a carrot on a string. "Then trust that he trusts me."

"How can I argue that logic?" I smiled sullenly, nodding in affirmation.

Cisco's eyes lit up, "Alright! Welcome to the team! Do you mind if we get started right away? I have been dying to show you this footage!" Cisco veered towards the central computer system, dragging me excitedly behind him. "So, for the most part your performance was—"

"Underwhelming," Caitlin shot, sliding into position on my right.

"Yea, unfortunately," Cisco winced, "but check this out!" Cisco fast forward through the footage. "Now this screen is Barry's camera and this one is yours. Now watch…" My eyes widened as a vision of me raising my arms in a defensive panic just as the masked assailant fired his gun at me. "It took me a minute to figure out how you are not dead right now, but when you slow it down…" In a frame by frame from Barry's camera I watched in a mix of horror and awe as my arms shot up in time with the blast of the gun. The bullet veered, zinging past my ear, my assailant launched three feet back, landing in a heap.

"I thought Barry…"

"So did we."

"Holy shit."

"Yep."

"How did I do that?"

"Let's find out, shall we?" Dr. Wells echoed behind me, his face shown with curiosity. "I had Dr. Snow prepare a preliminary vitals scan, that we can base off of once we start testing your abilities. Don't give me that look Miss. Gallagher, think of the big picture—" I gasped audibly as the needle pierced through my flesh, eyeing Caitlin viciously.

"You'll feel a pinch." She offered after the fact, her small smile only irritating me further.

"We'll do a vitals, brain, and inner ear scan. Barry claims you can create seismic holes in the ground, I'm particularly interested in how that relates to your sound and motion abilities." Honestly, me too.

"When I woke up from my coma, my doctor told me my cerebral lobe was 'lit up like a Christmas tree' and working at peak efficiency." Dr. Well's eyes sparked with intrigue.

"And this is where my team monitors the police bands for criminal activity. We can track anything that's happening in the city. Check this out: we've got our own satellite." Barry strolled through the entrance a beautiful blonde woman on his heels, taking in the site of the lab.

"I know; I've hacked into it from time to time." Uh…who the fuck is this?

"Rude." Barry mocked playfully. Cisco and Caitlin stood at attention, rushing towards them.

"It is, of course, so wonderful to see you again, Felicity. I'm just wondering how much of our operation she needs to know about." Caitlin glanced apprehensively at Barry.

"I'm really good at keeping secrets."

"Felicity works with The Arrow." Wow Barry.

"That makes one of you," I smirked, meeting Barry's excited gaze with a hard stare. "Ryleigh Gallagher: best friend. Nice to meet you. How do you know Barry exactly?" I smiled sharply shaking her hand.

"Barry and I are—"

"We've worked together a few times."

"Now it all makes sense! You know who The Arrow is. Wait, do _you_ know who The Arrow is?" Cisco and Caitlin's eyes trained on a floundering Barry.

"Uh…" Barry shook his head.

"Bite your tongue any harder and you'll swallow it, Allen." I grinned.

"Let's just say that my team has a similar setup but with more pointy objects." Cisco grinned like a kid with a VIP pass to Santa's workshop.

"Welcome, Miss Smoak!" All eyes fell on Dr. Wells as he crossed the threshold of the adjoining room. Felicity's eyes grew wide in admiration. Meh, Scientists.

"Dr. Wells? _The_ Dr. Wells?" Dr. Wells chuckled lightly, humbly brushing off her excitement.

"Please, call me Harrison, Felicity."

"You know who I am?"

"Ranked second in the National Informative Technology competition at age nineteen. Graduated MIT with a master's degree in cyber security and computer sciences. I know who you are." Well damn. "I keep an eye out for promising talent in scientific fields that's what brought me Cisco, Caitlin, and I foresaw great things from you." I am suddenly acutely aware of the fact that I am the only one in this room not qualified to be here.

"Speaking of great things," Barry grinned impishly at Felicity, "Want to see something cool?" He took her hand, guiding her down the hall towards one of the many testing labs.

"You're going to love this." Cisco encouraged almost giddily as Caitlin attached monitors to Barry's person. Dr. Wells and I followed behind at a slower pace. At first I thought it was because of his chair, but now I think it's so he can observe. He's always observing, he doesn't look at you, he studies you. A look of intrigue ghosting his features. Barry has that same look, must be a scientist thing.

Leaning against the wall, I watch as Barry put on a show for Felicity, gearing up on the treadmill and flashing her a wink before picking up full speed. His features blur right before our eyes, and Felicity's widened in shock and awe.

"How fast can he run?"

"He hasn't reached his top speed yet, theoretically speaking."

"So is he really okay?" A concerned edge crept into her voice.

"His heart rate is in normal range…for him." Caitlin reassured.

"No, I mean, the lightning bolt changed him. Do any of you really know how much?" This got my attention.

"Not where it matters." I deadpanned, not taking my eyes off of Barry.

"We know a fair amount." Cisco nodded, flashing me a reassuring smile. We had a few of these talks over the course of the past year. Frustrated, tear-stained conversations where I held my best friend's hand as we monitored his sensory stimulation and feared I would never fully get him back.

"If everything about him is sped up, is he gonna age faster? What would happen if he ran too fast? Would he just be running and then poof, he's dust in a red costume?" She gazed beseechingly at Dr. Wells.

"Everything we do here, at S.T.A.R Labs, is to protect Barry Allen. Trust us, Felicity, he is in very good hands here." His gaze flicked behind him and I knew that statement was meant for me too. Barry Allen is in good hands, so I am in good hands. I am under the protection of S.T.A.R Labs. I nodded curtly, a secret smile formed on his lips and I knew he saw.

"Wanna see how fast I can run backwards?" Barry yelled excitedly before launching off the treadmill and into the wall.

"Yeah, that _definitely_ hasn't changed. I need caffeine, you wanna come? We can swap embarrassing stories about Barry."

"Careful Gallagher, two can play that game." Barry exclaimed, emerging, brushing off drywall flakes from his head.

"You've got nothing on me, Allen. Let's walk Smoak, we have a lot to cover in seven blocks."

* * *

"Hey you two," Iris greeted sweetly, balancing a tray.

"Oh, we're not a two."

"Oh. No. We're a one and one."

"Yeah." Oh boy.

Iris nodded, desperately hiding her trademark grin. "Has Barry been showing you some of the sights of Central City?" Oh-ho-ho, has he.

"Yes. Um, I have seen some pretty amazing things."

"Really!" Shut up, Iris. I can see the wheels turning. "Well, if you got some time, maybe we can show you some of Central City's night life."

"Oh, no. I get plenty of nightlife in Starling City."

"Oh, this is something that I don't think that you're gonna want to miss. Trivia night at Jitters!"

"You're shameless." Iris flashed me a warning glance before plastering another broad cheery smile on her face. "Say no Felicity, it's a trap. They reel you in with the promise of free donuts but they don't say how many you get."

"The cronuts don't count, Ryleigh we've been over this."

"And yet, nowhere does it say that on the flyer. She's a con artist Felicity just walk away. You'll thank me later."

"Eddie's not really excited about it, I admit-"

"Honestly, I can't imagine why—"

"but it could be our night guys!" This is so uncomfortable.

"Our night to win seventy-five dollars' worth of cappuccinos?"

"Ah, yum! You know what, I'm gonna go call work, check in, make sure everything's okay. I'll be back in a second." Felicity smiled awkwardly, a blush tinging her cheeks before walking away.

"Why are you doing this?" Barry sighed, clearly embarrassed.

"Doing what?" Iris feigned innocence, unable to meet his gaze. This was a ritual between the two of them, one which I have decidedly taken the back seat on many years ago.

"Give me a big one Marta, oh come on, I'm here every day, you know what I want! Yes, ah ha! ha! come to mama!"

"Barry, girls don't just hop on trains and travel hundreds of miles to see someone they don't like. Ryleigh, help me!"

"It's true." I replied, mouth full of warm cronut. "Mm oh my god so good…"

"See, this is why you need my help. Bring her tonight, we'll have fun. Ry you coming?"

"Ha! Pass, thanks."

"Fine, Marta, she's gotta pay for that."

"Put it on my tab."

"You have a tab here?" Barry exclaimed. "You have a problem."

"I…yes. Yes, I do. Hey, why don't you all come over tonight beforehand? We can have a few drinks before you head over?"

"Sounds like a plan!" Iris grinned wickedly, before rushing over to help a table.

"Why are you helping her? You never help her." Barry whined, glaring half-heartedly at me.

"Because for once she may be on to something. I mean, my girl came all the way from Starling City to see you. On top of that, she's got killer brains and a smoking bod and honestly you'd be fucking stupid if you don't jump on this opportunity."

"Thanks, Ry."

"Hey, don't say I never did anything for you. Now I'm out of here, if I stay any longer they're gonna have to roll me out of here. See you tonight lover boy."

* * *

"Where's Felicity?" Iris panicked, as she blew into my apartment in a whirlwind, Eddie firmly in tow.

"She's going to meet us there." Barry rolled his eyes, the two of us already nursing a glass of wine.

"Eddie, dahling, good to see you. Have a drink, Iris have two, you're more nervous than Barry." I cheered from my lounging position, smooth jazz languidly lilted through the air. The sound was relaxing, my body hummed contently, relishing in the vibes.

"Oh, ho, what's this? Wow, how long ago was this taken?" Eddie grinned, examining my photo shelf.

"High school, I want to say, junior year? Iris what year did you go with Jake Landry to prom?"

" _I saw Danny Rowland at your locker today." Iris teased, heading home from school._

" _Yes, we're partnered on a history project. He wanted to know when I was available."_

" _Just for the project?"_

" _Yeah, why?"_

" _No reason other than he's gorgeous and was talking to you for a while," Iris gushed, elbowing me in the side._

" _Nothing to report, sorry."_

" _You going to ask him to prom?"_

" _No! Are you crazy?"_

" _What! He's cute and totally your type; plus, he asked to partner with you on the project."_

" _Because I aced the last three tests and he's looking for an easy grade. Besides, he's dating Becky Holloway."_

" _Nope, they broke up three days ago."_

" _How do you know that?"_

" _I make it my business to know these things."_

" _Snoop," I laughed, shaking my head._

" _I like to be in the know!"_

" _If you care so much why don't you go with him?"_

" _I already have a date."_

" _Of course you do, who?"_

" _Jake Landry." A smug smile danced across her face._

" _Soccer forward Jake Landry? Damn, Iris, very nice!"_

" _He's very sweet actually, asked me this morning before homeroom." She smiled shyly. I can tell she's excited._

" _When do you want to go dress shopping?" I asked._

" _Soon, I want to hit that cute place on 17_ _th_ _."_

" _Sounds good to me, we should go before the weekend that way we get first pick."_

" _Good idea! Hey, you coming over tonight?"_

" _I can,"_

" _Awesome. Barry got the first season of 'The X-Files' on DVD and wants to marathon it."_

" _Wow we're really partying hard tonight."_

" _Oo! Donovan's cute and totally available." Iris slapped my arm as he strolled past._

" _Why aren't you pestering Barry about prom?"_

" _Trust me, I am."_

* * *

" _Hey! Where have you been?" I called, lounging on the sofa, nibbling on a pop tart._

" _Science club, where's Iris?"_

" _Jake stopped by, they went for a walk."_

" _Oh?"_

" _Yeah, discussing matching colors and all that Jazz I'm sure."_

" _What for?"_

" _Oh, he asked her to prom this morning."_

" _Oh…great."_

" _Please, contain your enthusiasm."_

" _No, I mean, I'm surprised she wasn't asked already."_

" _Me too actually, but you know Iris."_

" _Yeah," he trailed off plopping on the sofa next to me. "She's been trying to get me to ask out someone for weeks now."_

" _Same! Just earlier she saw Danny Rowland and I talking at my locker and I had to hear the whole way home how cute we would be together." I rolled my eyes, sticking out my tongue. Barry chuckled, picking up my legs, draping them over his lap._

" _You mean no one's asked you yet?"_

" _You would know if they had."_

" _I'm just surprised."_

" _Yeah, well, Joe and I were going to go but then we broke up and now he's taking Amy—"_

" _Cheerleader Amy?" he blanched, eyes lighting up._

" _Yes," I replied tersely, eyeing him._

" _Oh, um wow, sucks to be her."_

" _Not helping." I kicked him lightly, huffing a little. He smirked lightly, nestling into the couch. We sat in silence for a while, just watching TV._

" _So," Barry started._

" _So."_

" _Uh," I glanced at Barry out of the corner of my eye. He looked like he does when he's desperately trying to keep his cool. His eyes darted between me and the TV, his hands gripping my leg for support._

" _What's wrong, sailor?" My lip quirked, keeping my eyes trained on the television._

" _Well, um, I figured if you weren't going with anyone, and I'm not going with anyone…"_

" _Why Barry Allen, are you asking me to prom?" I feigned innocence, a wide grin spread across my face._

" _Yes, I mean, not unless you don't want to, which is fine."_

" _Whoa, whoa, easy tiger," I laughed, sitting up facing him. "Of course I do."_

" _Really?"_

" _Yeah! Who better to go with than your best friend? At least we're sure to have a good time."_

" _Exactly," Barry relaxed significantly._

" _Nervous much? I'd hate to see you ask a real girl out."_

" _You are a real girl."_

" _But you're my best friend, it doesn't count."_

" _Sure it does."_

" _Aren't you a flatterer."_

" _I try," he beamed quite charmingly._

" _You know, if you smile like that, I bet you could get Cheerleader Amy to go with you."_

" _Really? You think? Well then forget this!"_

" _Oh shut up!" I squawked kicking him repeatedly, as he laughed until tears welled in his eyes. We fought in a fit of side splitting giggles, wrestling about the sofa, me yelling obscenities at him, and he attempting to pin me down._

" _You're such a shit!" I screeched, cackling until my sides hurt. Our breaths came in ragged puffs before I flopped on top of him, my head in his lap. His fingers curled in my hair mindlessly, playing with my locks, our attention turning back to the cartoons on the screen._

" _Do we have to match?"_

" _Absolutely."_

" _Damn."_

"So you were always a meddler, good to know." Eddie teased, twirling a strand of Iris' hair.

Iris fingered the eight by ten frames of our prom photos. "Oh god, Jake Landry; that's a name I haven't thought about in years."

"You two were so ridiculously good looking together I swear." Eddie flashed me a side-long glare.

"What? I'm not your girlfriend let her stroke your ego." I winked jokingly.

"You and Allen sure look cozy." Eddie responded raising an eyebrow tauntingly.

"What did you say to me there?" I asked Barry, who smirked fondly at the memory.

"You don't remember?" He questioned playfully.

"Vaguely."

" _I don't want to do the prom pose."_

" _What do you mean?"_

" _You know, the 'prom pose'. It's so boring!"_

" _Well what do you want to do?"_

" _I don't know."_

" _Well we're up next."_

" _Uh—" my eyes darted around the room, attempting to drum up an idea on the fly._

" _Next please!"_

" _Uh—Jack and Diane."_

" _What?"_

" _Leo and Kate."_

" _What are y—"_

" _Tommy and Gina! Lucy and Ricky!"_

"I was trying so hard to convey to you what I was thinking." I defended, slightly embarrassed.

"It was the best I could think of on the fly."

"It works." I conceded flashing him a toothy obnoxious grin, to which he flung a pillow at me. I couldn't hide a stupid grin at the memory: Barry grabbed me by the wrist, spinning me around to face him. He dipped me back, just enough, our noses just grazing, and does the cheesiest Ricky Ricardo impression I've ever heard before bursting into a fit of laughter. My toothy grin flashed, my eyes danced, and Barry's nose scrunched ever so slightly as he grinned like a fool. No picture will ever top this one.

"Do it."

"Absolutely not."

"You've gotten boring in your old age, Allen." I tutted, downing the rest of my wine glass; Eddie graciously refilling it for me.

"Trying to get me drunk, Thawne?" I cheered, taking another healthy sip.

"Wouldn't dream of it."

"Aw, too bad," I pouted shooting him a salacious wink. Eddie's eyes widened, his cheeks flushing slightly.

Iris giggled, swatting my arm. "Ignore her Eddie."

"Sweetheart, you couldn't if you tried." I purred, narrowing my eyes at Iris.

"Believe me, I've tried. Oh geez, babe we've got to go or we're gonna miss trivia. You sure you're not coming Ry?"

"Positive, I've got these portraits to sort through, I'm already a week late with them." Try two, but who's counting? Besides my clients.

"Barry you coming?"

"I'll meet you guys there." Barry waved, ushering them out.

"Don't be late!" Iris warned, jabbing her finger into his chest before striding past Eddie out the door. I slumped unceremoniously, legs dangling over the armchair.

"How do you do it?" I moaned quietly, pressing my forehead into the armrest.

"Do what?" Barry questioned, flopping onto the couch.

"Keep your shit together? You're juggling a job, S.T.A.R Labs, and saving the city. I'm way behind in my work, I can barely stay afloat, don't even get me started on all these secrets, and if I have to hear Dr. Wells' 'greater good bigger picture' speech again as Caitlin sticks me in the arm I'm going to lose my shit."

"They have to, you know that."

"Does not mean I have to like it."

"They are your friends—"

"No, they are your friends!" I snapped. Barry's eyes widen and I feel instantly bad seeing his crestfallen face. "Look, they saved your life, I'll never forget that. I just…I just don't like being told what to do. I came because you promised they could help me get control of my abilities, I did not sign up to be constantly monitored and policed."

"Look, I know Caitlin can be a bit—"

"Rude? Condescending?"

"Yeah, she's been through a lot this past year. You two are a lot alike actually, just give her a chance. As far as Cisco goes, I'm not supposed to tell you this, but he is like incredibly excited about you joining the squad and has been working on a suit for you."

"You are so bad at keeping secrets oh my god, how does Iris not know about you? Does Dr. Wells have a hit on you if you talk? Like, are we being followed by assassins?" I ducked, barely evading a throw pillow. "Tsk, tsk, getting sloppy Allen, looks like you need more training sessions. Maybe Felicity can give you a private tutoring session." I grinned salaciously as Barry's face turned a twinge of pink before flipping me off and slamming the door behind him.

"Good night!"

* * *

I woke to the sound of my phone buzzing in my ear. Oh god, tell me I didn't drool on the photos! Who is calling me anyway?

"Cisco? What's up? Everything okay?"

"No, meet us in the Lab. Now."

"Shit, okay I'll be there soon."

"Here! Here! Sorry I'm late. Sorry—"

"After all we've been through, I thought you trusted me. I thought we were friends!" Barry cried angrily.

"We are Barry," Cisco implored.

"If you had just told me I could have been prepared! But instead, someone died tonight."

"What the hell is going on?"

"Not now, Ryleigh." Dr. Wells interjected heatedly.

"Yes, right now! What the hell happened?"

"Those criminals from the armored truck? That was Leonard Snart, a criminal mastermind, who is now in possession of a cryogenic weapon purposely designed to kill me."

"What the fuck!"

"Ryleigh I—"

"What about 'S.T.A.R Labs is here to protect Barry Allen'? Huh? 'We want what's best for Barry Allen'. What a load of shit, and to think I almost believed it!"

"Ryleigh, calm down."

"No! I will not fucking calm down, Barry. These people built a weapon for the sole purpose of putting you down, you don't think that's fucked up? No? Just me?"

"Look," Barry shouted, gripping my shoulders. "Someone died tonight Ryleigh. Don't you get that? Someone died tonight because I wasn't fast enough." His eyes searched mine, they were angry, imploring. I shook my head, a rogue tear sliding down my cheek. I don't know what to say. His grip on me loosened, and he disappeared down the hall towards the treadmill.

"Let him go," Dr. Wells commanded, wheeling into the other room.

"I'll go," Felicity whispered, squeezing my arm reassuringly, before disappearing down the hall after him.

I messaged my temples, trying to get my emotions under control. This room is full of glass and monitors; I can't afford a slip up in here.

"Can I talk to you?" Cisco beseeched from behind me.

"You build a gun for me too? You might want to grab it just in case."

"I deserve that." Cisco nodded sadly, "You have to understand, what happened here a year ago, the kind of evil that sprouted from it—we thought we were revolutionary. Then the explosion happened…I honestly didn't know what to expect. I had to be prepared." I hate that it makes sense. I don't want it to. It's Barry for crying out loud, but, they didn't know him like I do.

"You should have told him."

"Hindsight." Cisco shrugged half-heartedly, a failed attempt at humor. I cracked a smile anyway. Too many sessions with Caitlin Snow and Cisco Ramon, tethered to Barry's side would not allow me to believe there was any malicious intent involved in this decision. I sighed deeply, quelling my rage.

"So what do we do now?"

"We?"

"That's what I said," I glanced stoically at Cisco, who finally cracked a smile.

"Well then, I think you're going to like this. Mind you, it's still a proto type, but maybe we can test it out. What do you say?" His excitement built with every step he took towards his pet project. With a press of a button, a secret display door slid open revealing the coolest super suit I have ever seen. It was sleek, shiny, red flex suit with black trim, thigh high boots and gloves to match.

"It's perfect," I whispered in awe, petting the sliding glass. "Can I try it on?"

"I would be insulted if you didn't. Also, it's no Party City Mask, but it has all the bells and whistles and suits you well, if I do say so myself." He placed the mask in my hands gingerly, obviously proud of his creation. It was a domino mask, designed to mimic the scales of a mermaid tale. Red, gold, and black danced in a blend of color.

"It's strong as steel, and if you're hit directly in the face it can be wicked sharp. It's designed to not only protect your face, but allows me to see and track you when I need to. Don't worry, it's only if you need help I swear."

"Thank you." I breathed, entranced by the beauty and thoughtfulness of it.

"Well, when I heard 'Siren' I immediately thought of folk tales and mermaid legends."

"It's perfect," I nodded.

"It needs tweaking obviously, once we have a full scope of your abilities, we can hone it to perfectly suit your needs. It's better than that beat up leather jumpsuit. Honestly? Throw that away now please. If you ever where it here again, I'll destroy it myself."

"Fair enough." Cisco smile diminished, his brow furrowing deeply. I could practically see the wheels turning in his head. "That's it! Why didn't I think of it before? Go round everyone up. Hurry!"

"What are you talking about? Cisco!" I shouted, but he had already turned the corner and was long gone.

* * *

"I figured out a way to track Captain Cold." Cisco blurted, his fingers dancing wildly over his tablet. I nudged Barry, who shrugged me off, fixating on a monitor, his back decidedly to the rest of the group.

"You gotta stop naming these guys." Caitlin chastised playfully, attempting to lighten the obvious tension in the room.

"Barry, listen to him." Doctor Wells commanded, earning a deep, petulant sigh from Barry.

"How?" He rolled his eyes, refusing to look directly at Cisco. Yes, now is definitely the time to act like children.

"The cold gun is powered by an engine-control unit. A microcomputer that regulates air-to-fuel ratio so the sub-cooled fluid in the chambers don't overflow and—"

"Explode," Felicity finished.

"Right! This ECU was receiving updates wirelessly from my tablet. If I boost the signal using Central City's network, we'll get a ping back and then…"

"We find Waldo." I smirked, gliding over to an image of Leonard Snart's mugshot. There you are. "Can I?" I pleaded, tingling in anticipation.

"Of course!"

"Yes! Yes! Yes! I am so ready for this!" Without missing a beat, I took off down the corridor into the first room. The suit was form fitting, but stretchy, giving me full range of motion. The material was surprisingly thick, almost rubbery in texture, the boots similar in texture, with plenty of flexibility. Heels? Really? I'm supposed to run in—oh…right on! Thick square heels, not only provided excellent support, but amplified the sounds, each click against the hard floor emitted a perfect pitch, echoing through the room as I fumbled to put the other on. That is brilliant. The mask had no attachments, and when contact with my skin was made, a slight burning sensation tingled against the material as if I lathered it in icy hot before applying. The sensation tightened; drying, and then fusing to my flesh. I tugged lightly at the edges, but it wouldn't budge. I felt powerful, sexy, and incredibly bad ass.

"Cisco dude, you out did yourself."

"Wow…" He grinned, his eyes lighting up as he took in his creation. "It definitely suits you."

"Ready?" Barry nodded, already suited up, electricity sparking around him like a giant conductor.

"No time, we have Snart's location let's go."

"You turned your earpiece off? How are we going to talk to each other?"

"I don't feel like talking right now."

"Uh-uh. No way. There has to be a better way. We cannot do this every time!"

"Fine! Ugh, just let me-damn it Barry!" I hate this, oh god I hate this! The world came abruptly back into focus and I was standing in a moving train face to face with Leonard Snart.

"There's nowhere to run!" Barry bellowed, stepping in front of me slightly as Snart trained the cryo gun between his eyes.

"I didn't see you before, does your mom know you're out past your bedtime? And you, looks like someone got an upgrade; I like." He nodded approvingly, flashing me a seedy smirk.

"If you wanted to get away, you should have taken something faster than a train."

"That's if I wanted to get away." Wait, what? "I've seen your weakness. At the armored car, then at the theatre. So while you're busy saving everybody, I'll be saving myself." The gun began to whir to life, and I grabbed Barry pulling him behind me as the floor of the train car froze through to the brakes. Passengers began screaming, and in the chaos, the fucking scumbag ripped open the sealed doors. "Good luck with that!" He cackled, before vaulting to freedom. Fuck! Fuck, what are we going to do? The car began to sway on the tracks gaining momentum. I turned to Barry frantically, as car screeched, veering off of the tracks completely, tumbling out of control. I felt Barry's hands wrap around my waist, and flung me out the shattered window. The screeching and vibrations of scraping metal overwhelmed my senses, giving me a headache. Too loud. Get your shit together, this is the big leagues Ry. Barry collided with the ground, barely making it out of the last train car in time.

"No!" a cryo beam blasted Barry's fallen figure, Leonard Snart standing over him, tauntingly.

My entire body buzzed with power and rage. My gloved fists began to glow a deep red, shaking with pent up energy. In a fury, I pounded my fists into the dirt, the impact creating a seismic wave. The ground shook wildly, rippling towards Snart, flinging the both of them into the air like beach balls. Holy shit. Snart struggled to stand, grasping for the cryogenic gun.

"Drop it," Cisco? Caitlin? Felicity? Thank god. "This is a prototype cold gun, four times the size, four times the power."

"Your hands are shaking; you've never killed anyone."

"First time for everything, Captain Cold." Cisco spat. Leonard's face lit up at the name, the whisper of a laugh escaping his lips.

"I will shoot you." Cisco insisted, refusing to back down. Leonard's eyes trained on me, as I made my way towards them.

"Not bad, not bad at all. I'd work on my aim though."

"I'd listen to him if I were you." Leonard smirked, obviously weighing his options.

"You win, kid. I'll see you around. He glanced at Barry, and then at me, nodding slightly before leaving.

"Hey! Leave the diamond." Oh Cisco…

"Don't push your luck." Whew. I let out a heavy breath I didn't realize I was holding.

"Couldn't shoot him if I wanted to," Cisco admitted, powering down the 'gun'. "This is actually a S.T.A.R Labs vacuum cleaner."

"Do you think you could have shared that _after_ we got back to the lab?" I cried, gearing up for a potential round two, god forbid, if he heard us.

"Come on champ," I nudged Barry with my foot.

"Let's get you warm." Felicity dropped to her knees, examining Barry for any serious injuries.

"Thank you." Barry nodded gratefully, clasping Cisco's hand firmly.

"Good, the gang's back together, the day is won, let's get the hell out of here." I growled, kicking a flaming piece of train car. "I don't want to get caught by Joe or Eddie. God knows they'll be here any minute."

* * *

"So seismic waves are something we can add to the list; excellent." Dr. Wells imported the data to my file. "Well done, Miss. Gallagher, I'd love to run some tests and see how far we can push that ability under different conditions. I'm glad to know Barry has someone out there backing him up."

"Likewise. I'm glad I have…all of you as well. I have no idea what I'm fully capable of, and that scares me. To know I have people looking out for me…thank you."

"Glad to have you part of the team."

"Glad to be part of it."

"Speaking of teams, I should probably get back to mine." Felicity sighed, slowly approaching Barry, coat in hand.

"It's nice meeting you, Miss. Smoak. Please extend a hello to The Arrow for us."

"I will," she nodded, offering a small, sad smile. Barry stepped closer, wrapping her in a tight hug.

"Bye, Felicity."

"Bye, Barry." She exchanged one, final, meaningful glance before turning, her heels clicking down the hall. Barry stood gazing after her.

"Remarkable young woman." Dr. Wells nodded, a small, knowing smile played at the corner of his lips.

"She's special," Cisco agreed.

"Yeah, she is." His reply wistful.

"You're so stupid." I groaned, smacking him firmly in the back of the head.

"Ow! Why?"

"Because you out of your damn mind! Go after her!"

"Really? Are you sure?"

"Iris was right; you do need help. Go on Wonder Boy, go get your girl!" I smacked his ass playfully, "Later awesome nerds. See you all tomorrow. Cisco, ten out of ten on the suit good buddy. Can't wait to fully break it in."

"Aren't you going to leave the ma—"

"No."

* * *

Definitely got to hand it to Cisco, that suit absorbed quite a bit of fall damage but ugh, not enough of it. A purple bruise enveloped the better part of my back. I mean I was tossed from a moving train, check that off my bucket list. Nngh, that is going to ache like a son of a bitch tomorrow. Seeking familiar comfort, I put on Dad's worn out Clapton album. It was scratchy, and dull, but the sound was soothing and reminded me of rain storms, Dad's off key singing, and…a soft pounding at my door.

"It's unlocked!" I shouted from my languid position on the sofa.

"How did you know it was me?" Barry chided, slipping in.

"I didn't."

"That's so not safe."

"What? Robbers don't knock. Besides there is nothing worth stealing in here besides the week old white rice in the fridge and half a bottle of Merlot. Actually, you should bring that over here since you're up." Barry shook his head, suppressing a grin and followed orders, assuming his position on the other side of me. "So?"

"So…"

"Come on, dude!" Barry's cheeks turned pink a sheepish grin spread across his face. "I knew it! And?"

"And... she's on her way to Starling City."

"So that's that?"

"That's that."

"I'm sorry,"

"Don't be. This is good. We are where we're meant to be."

* * *

 **Author's Note: So I had a blast writing this, and delving deeper into Layla's abilities. Upgrades to her super suit were an absolute must for this chapter, now we can move forward and really delve deeper into her abilities and relationship with Team Flash.**

 **Reviews are loved and ideas are always accepted and appreciated.**

 **Muah! XOXO - N**


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